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Minister of the Environment Unveils Energy Sector Reform
By Lindsay Thompson
Sep 12, 2013 - 1:59:51 PM

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Minister of the Environment and Housing the Hon. Kenred Dorsett addressing the topic: “Energy Sector Reform in The Bahamas” during the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS Photo/Raymond Bethel)

Nassau The Bahamas - The Minister of the Environment and Housing the Hon Kenred Dorsett outlined a comprehensive plan aimed at reforming the energy sector and delivering more affordable electricity to consumers.

He was addressing the topic: “Energy Sector Reform in The Bahamas” during the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at the British Colonial Hilton.

Mr. Dorsett outlined plans, policies and new legislation aimed at revamping the country’s energy sector, particularly as it relates to the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, (BEC), the operational costs for investors and commercial entities and the heavy economic impact on Bahamian families.

“The cost of electricity in The Bahamas has become a problem that we cannot allow to continue to increase while expecting growth within the economy of this country. The two can no longer co-exist,” he said.

In this vein, the government has sought to reduce operational costs at BEC by improving on operational efficiencies and reducing waste wherever possible. An Energy Task Force was established and charged with advising the government on solutions to reducing the high cost of electricity.

“We eliminated the excise tax on fuel used by BEC in the 2013-2014 Budget, which was forecasted to reduce energy cost by six percent. We also eliminated tariffs on inverters for solar panels and LED appliances to ensure that more of our citizens would be able to afford these energy saving devices,” he said.

Another savings measure is to create two new BEC entities into which the relevant assets, liabilities and operations of the corporation will be transferred.

The first, a new Transmission and Distribution Company (NewCo), which will be wholly owned by BEC. This company will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair and expansion of NewCo’s electricity transmission and distribution systems and for billing, collection, customer services and other relevant services across The Bahamas.

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Members of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce at luncheon during which the Minister of the Environment and Housing the Hon. Kenred Dorsett addressed the topic: “Energy Sector Reform in The Bahamas”. The event was held Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS Photo/Kris Ingraham)

The second company will be a new Generation Service Company, which will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, financing of BEC’s current electricity generation facilities and certain other assets located across The Bahamas, as well as the development of new power generation plant. It will enter into a Power Purchase Agreement with NewCo.

“We are seeking a partner to manage the operations of NewCo, bringing state of the art business practices, processes and technology to the Transmission Distribution Systems,” Mr. Dorsett said.

The government expects to have a clear cost reduction targets and incentives, as well as performance benchmarks embedded into the contract.

“The performance benchmarks will address issues such as network reliability, average outage periods, frequency of outages, system losses, speed of restoration of power, speed of connections, billing punctuality and a number of other issues consumers currently suffer from.

These initiatives will be underpinned not only by robust contracts with the preferred bidder or bidders, but also by a new regulatory regime, which, amongst other benefits, will bring direct and independent oversight of the cost of electricity.

The framework of this new regime is being developed and the government is expected to pass relevant legislation in early 2014.


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