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LETTER OF THE DAY – Some Thoughts On Energy

October 23, 2012 jrobinson

Paulwell

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I wish to congratulate Claude Clarke on his recent article headlined ‘Could Paulwell’s plan light the path to recovery?’

This is the best article written to date in connection with our cost of energy problem. I doubt if electricity rates can be reduced to 15 US cents per kilowatt-hour in the near future but do know that the current design engines working on heavy fuel oil (HFO), if installed, would be 35 per cent cheaper to generate electricity than what is currently being generated at Hunts Bay or Old Harbour Bay stations. Even if LNG is not immediately available it would be a start to the reduction of rates.

The modern day engines are dual fuel and can be shipped within 12 months. They can operate on HFO and be switched to LNG (without extra cost) whenever it comes.

The modern dual fuel engines operating on HFO carry a heat rate of under 8,000. The JPS plants at Hunts Bay and Old Harbour Bay go as high as 12,200. If energy fuel were liberalised two years ago we would now have been able to sell it at a lower cost to the consumer.

Welcome news

I believe that the statement made in Parliament recently by Phillip Paulwell is welcome news for the energy sector and he should be congratulated. Now that the announcement has been made, how do we proceed?

I do not believe that breaking the monopoly on transmission and distribution should be a priority but more effort should be put towards reducing the base load cost as quickly as possible.

D

New Project Bottles Hydrogen As Cooking Gas

October 22, 2012 Webmaster

Professor Errol Morrison (left), president of UTECH, grabs the attention of Phillip Paulwell, minister of science, technology, energy and mining, while attending the launch of ACP/EU grant funded Solar-Hydrogen Research Project which was held at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, October 18. – Ian Allen/Photographer

The University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) is leading an ambitious project that harnesses energy from water and sunlight to slash the US$30-million (J$2.7b) import bill for cooking gas.

It’s the largest project of its kind in Jamaica worth

Alternative Energy News Solar Energy

New Project Bottles Hydrogen As Cooking Gas

October 22, 2012 jrobinson

Professor Errol Morrison (left), president of UTECH, grabs the attention of Phillip Paulwell, minister of science, technology, energy and mining, while attending the launch of ACP/EU grant funded Solar-Hydrogen Research Project which was held at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, October 18. – Ian Allen/Photographer

The University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) is leading an ambitious project that harnesses energy from water and sunlight to slash the US$30-million (J$2.7b) import bill for cooking gas.

It’s the largest project of its kind in Jamaica worth

Alternative Energy Government News Oil

Jamaica Like PIGS Or Iceland?

October 19, 2012 Webmaster

Aubyn Hill, Financial Gleaner Columnist

Alternative Energy Government JPS News

JPS’s response to power outages

October 16, 2012 jrobinson

THRICE in the last two months or so, where this writer lives has been out of power for more than three hours – twice for about 12 hours. Power outages are almost daily affairs for many Jamaicans and the usual excuse about the “teams” being too busy tending to other faults to respond with alacrity no longer rings with any conviction.

Perhaps a part of the problem is that JPS appears to view “emergency” differently from their customers. A customer experiencing a power outage calling JPS is first presented with an option relating to bill balance or about payment to JPS. The second option is to report an emergency. When one enters that menu number, one is reminded that the line is for emergencies only and further input is required from the customer to proceed. The caller is then reminded about recording of the call for quality purposes. Then, and only then, can one speak to a representative about the emergency

Alternative Energy Jobs News

Minister Urges SMEs To Take Advantage Of Energy Loan Facility

October 16, 2012 Webmaster

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Phillip Paulwell

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Phillip Paulwell, is urging small and medium sized enterprises to take advantage of the energy management loan facility being offered by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).

The DBJ/PetroCaribe (SMEs) Energy Fund allows SMEs to access loans of up to $30 million at a rate of 7.5 per cent to retrofit their operations to accommodate energy efficiency, energy conservation and alternative energy sources.

Under the programme, business operators across all sectors of the economy are encouraged to refurbish their facilities with renewable energy solutions, such assolar water heaters and solar panels, in an effort to effectively manage and conserve energy in their day-to-day operations.

However, speaking at the DBJ

Alternative Energy Government LNG News

Could Paulwell’s Plan Light The Path To Recovery?

October 16, 2012 jrobinson

Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell examines one of the solar panels at his home. Claude Clarke applauds the minister’s lobby for a mix of energy fuels but parts ways on the push for a break-up of JPS’s monopoly on electricity distribution.- Contributed

Claude Clarke, Contributor

While I disagree with Phillip Paulwell’s assertion that the distribution of electricity should be opened up to competition, I am convinced that his newly announced policy – to open the choice of the energy sources used to produce electricity to competition – is potentially the key to bringing electricity costs to levels that would give the Jamaican economy a chance to compete and make this essential service affordable for the consumer.

Present and known technology allows electric power to be most efficiently delivered through transmission lines. This type of delivery involves an extensive and expensive infrastructure, and seeking to replicate it would be highly wasteful of capital. New entrants to the business would be required to use valuable capital to construct very costly infrastructure, and Jamaicans would, ultimately, have to pick up the tab. This, combined with the fact that distribution represents no more than 20 per cent of the price of delivered electricity, supports the view that electricity distribution is a natural monopoly.

Monopolies are not always bad, and in many situations they are necessary for the most efficient delivery of an economic product. However, in these circumstances, it is Government’s duty to use regulations to stand in the place of the market to ensure best prices, quality, and service.

A fairly well-developed electricity distribution infrastructure already exists in Jamaica, and Government is in a position to apply the necessary regulatory and oversight authority to force the monopoly distributor to meet specific cost targets and set connectivity charges that are fair to its generation competitors.

essential national objectives

In contrast, electricity generation can only benefit from competition. As I said in July last year in my

Alternative Energy Government News

Private Sector Must Drive Investment in Energy Sector – Paulwell

October 11, 2012 Webmaster

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says the Government firmly believes that it is the private sector that should drive investment in energy projects.

He said the duty of the state is to create the enabling environment for investment and then for regulating that environment to ensure that the rules are fair and that everyone observes them.

“We have taken the important step in creating the legislative environment. We now need to improve on the bureaucracy of our regulatory environment because we need those investments to bring in jobs and we need to reduce our crippling oil bill,” he stated.

The Minister was speaking at a stakeholder workshop yesterday (Oct. 9) at the PCJ Auditorium in New Kingston, for the design of a streamlined process for private sector investment in renewable energy projects, particularly hydropower projects.

Jamaica‘s renewable energy market is fully liberalised and open to competition, following the Senate voting unanimously on Friday (Oct. 5), to approve the Extension of Functions Amendment Order, removing the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica‘s (PCJ) exclusive right to exploit and develop renewable resources to Jamaica. The move followed similar action by the House of Representatives the previous week.

The Minister said the move “is in keeping with the goals of our national energy policy, which calls for a modern, efficient, diversified and environmentally sustainable energy sector providing affordable and accessible energy supplies.”

More than 14 government ministries and agencies with responsibility for regulating and legislating various components of the hydropower developmental process, are participating in the training workshop, which is being held over two days.

Noting the importance of the training, Minister Paulwell said the process for approvals, permitting and licensing for small hydro development is “extremely time consuming” as various agencies need to be consulted.

“Right now, Jamaica needs a local approvals process which is time sensitive with clear indications as to how long the entire process will take cognisant, of course, of fitting into the overall time frame of the complete business process. We need a local approval process, which is interactive… transparent so that investors know how many steps are included and which ones to take,” he said.

The training is being delivered by experts from the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (US FERC), and will address issues including, energy infrastructure siting, laws and regulations, licensing processes and interagency interactions. FERC will provide advice based on their experience regulating the hydropower sector in the USA.

The Government has received financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development towards the cost of the Energy Security and Efficiency Enhancement Project.

Private Sector Must Drive Investment in Energy Sector – Paulwell

October 11, 2012 jrobinson