The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas needs a "long-term plan" to fix its energy woes, a Chamber of Commerce executive is arguing, adding: "Band aids only cover the wound."

Debbie Deal, head of the Chamber's energy and environment division, told a Democratic National Alliance (DNA) organised meeting on "energy reform" that "short-term fixes" will not address the country's long-standing reliability and high-cost problems.

She argued that cheaper fossil fuel energy, as promoted by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) as a result of its new 132 megawatts (MW) in new generation capacity, is a temporary economic fix that will not aid the fight against climate change - particularly rising sea levels and temperatures.

"We need long-term plans and not short-term fixes. Band aids only cover the wound, they don't heal it," said Ms Deal, suggesting that the "private sector can be the driver for this" long-term fix.

"We need to create a climate for alternative energy to grow," she added. "I think that as long as we are reliant as a country on fossil fuels, the promotion of being self-sufficient in our own energy and off-the-grid will be a harder sell to government.

"Globally, carbon emissions and methane are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. Climate change, through long-term record keeping, has shown direct correlation between climate change due to global warming. As we witnessed first-hand this past year, climate change is alive and living in The Bahamas. We experienced the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.

"We cannot let this happen again. We must do everything in our power to sustain ourselves prior to the next storm. As we are one of the countries that will be the first to disappear under water, we must set an example and move away from fossil fuels to alternative energy. We can't be upset when other countries refuse to stop burning coal and Bunker C for energy if we don't stop ourselves."

Ms Deal added: "Here in The Bahamas, the inconsistency of energy supply and the cost of energy is a heavy burden on our country for economic growth. The cost of energy is not just the per kilowatt-hour fee, but the additional costs for businesses to provide back-up generation to fill the gap and provide for themselves a consistent supply of energy to operate.

"Think about hotels, restaurants, gas stations, airports, malls, hospitals etc. The additional cost of purchasing their own generators, maintaining and fueling them. UPS systems to back up their IT systems must be considered in their cost of doing business, and increases in the price of their services or goods trickles down to us, the consumer."

Promoting that solar power's economic and environmental benefits compared to fossil fuels, Ms Deal added: "Think about this. Generators are only allowed to be used when the energy company cannot provide power. They are noise pollutants and use fossil fuels. Solar, on the other hand, can be used any time, makes no noise and uses no fossil fuels.

"This past summer showed just how difficult and expensive that is for us and for guests coming to our country. Hotels add an energy cost to guests' bills."