The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Private sector executives yesterday backed the Government’s decision to temporarily suspend the Renewable Energy Self-Generation (RESG) programme until industry-wide reforms were bedded in, but urged that it not be delayed “inordinately”.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, yesterday acknowledged the organisation’s concerns over the programme’s suspension.

“While we were initially  concerned about the the suspension of it, having had some initial discussions with persons in government who were responsible for it, we see that it is best that they get it done correctly the first time,” Mr Sumner said.

“If it means putting it on hold for a few months to allow PowerSecure to get things set up properly, that’s for us. We don’t want to see this delayed inordinately or pushed aside for another year or so, but once Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) is in place and the management taken over, we expect that this is going to be one of the first things on the agenda to deal with and address.”

Some renewable energy providers last week  slammed the Government’s decision to suspend the self-generation programme, arguing that it had left the industry “in limbo” and again “put the cart before the horse”.

Ministers and senior BEC officials confirmed that the much-touted RESG programme had been ‘temporarily delayed’ to ensure that it aligned with wider energy industry reforms. They pledged that it would be re-launched “early in the process” of implementing BEC and sector changes.

Mr Sumner yesterday added that some businesses have already began purchasing equipment to take advantage of the RESG programme. Under it, consumers can generate energy through alternative sources, tie into the electrical grid, and receive a credit for excess supply fed in.

Jack Roosevelt , managing director of Blue Wave Capital and Clifton Energy Partners, said: “I think that with PowerSecure coming in as the manager of Bahamas Power and Light, the RESG programme was clearly going to have to be put on hold so that it could be implemented properly under the auspices of BPL.”

Mr Roosevelt, whose company has been seeking to install a utility-scale solar project on land owned by the late Nancy Oakes’ estate in southwestern New Providence, added: “I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad thing that it has been put on hold. I think that it is more honest than anything else.

“The full implementation of RESG hadn’t taken place, and wasn’t really going to take place until BPL and been put in place to essentially replace BEC as the energy generator and manage the transmission and distribution segment of the business. I think it was an honest statement. I commend them for doing that rather than brushing it under the rug.”

Romauld Ferreira, environmental attorney and consultant, added: “There’s a technical component. PowerSecure and BPL is going to be  concerned about their equipment, access to the grid and their transmission systems. That’s all understandable.

“There is also another side. BPL is going to be a licensee under a differentiated licensing scheme, and so will  large renewable energy providers and residents; they will all have licenses. What we don’t want to see happen is one licensee, BPL, controlling or contributing to the terms of conditions of other licensees who can come in under the legislation. That is a different  kind of concern where we hope that it will be addressed in the whole process moving forward.”

The BCCEC’s second annual energy security forum is set for Wednesday, December 9, at the British Colonial Hilton under the theme ‘Reality Check’.

The forum is expected to focus on various forms of alternative energy and how to access financing.

“We will also be looking at the electricity legislation, the energy sector  policy as well as the PowerSecure and BEC scenario,” said Mr Sumner.