Phillip Paulwell
Arthur Hall,
Jamaica Public Service Company headquarters on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston. – File
The Office of Utilities Regulation has formally cancelled its agreement with JPS for development the 360 MW liquid natural gas plant, but the power company said Tuesday that the decision does not mean an end to the energy project.
Jamaica Public Service Company presented a modified version of the development to the OUR last Thursday, but would not say whether that plan still banks primarily on LNG for the plant ahead of feedback from the regulator on its proposal.
Company spokeswoman Winsome Callum told
Opposition Leader Stephenson King is calling on the St Lucia govern-ment not to join the Venezuelan oil initiative, PetroCaribe, saying it could bring the island into further debt.
“Let’s not get involved in this matter. This is not one for the government as it’s not a situation where fuel is being sold to the country at a cheaper rate. The fuel is being sold at the very rate that we are currently purchasing it from Trinidad or elsewhere,” King said.
Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said plans were announced to expand the PetroCaribe pro-gramme under which several Caribbean countries have so far benefited from an estimated US$800 million in investments.
Under the initiative launched in 2005, countries receive oil from Venezuela on concessionary terms, and although St Lucia was among regional countries that signed the accord it has not benefited from the initiative.
Anthony said he has instructed his energy minister to prepare formal documentation for Cabinet to consider the matter.
– CMC
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Opposition Leader Stephenson King is calling on the St Lucia govern-ment not to join the Venezuelan oil initiative, PetroCaribe, saying it could bring the island into further debt.
“Let’s not get involved in this matter. This is not one for the government as it’s not a situation where fuel is being sold to the country at a cheaper rate. The fuel is being sold at the very rate that we are currently purchasing it from Trinidad or elsewhere,” King said.
Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said plans were announced to expand the PetroCaribe pro-gramme under which several Caribbean countries have so far benefited from an estimated US$800 million in investments.
Under the initiative launched in 2005, countries receive oil from Venezuela on concessionary terms, and although St Lucia was among regional countries that signed the accord it has not benefited from the initiative.
Anthony said he has instructed his energy minister to prepare formal documentation for Cabinet to consider the matter.
– CMC
Read more:
The St. Lucia government says it will amend existing legislation governing the operations of the St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC), the sole electricity company, as it moves to provide consumers with relief from high electricity rates.
“LUCLEC has to understand when there are good times they enjoy the good times but when there are bad times, it too must make the adjustment for the sake of the people of the country, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony said.
Its an issue I have raised with them. It is well known that I have said that LUCELEC can no longer enjoy … statutory comfort for specific profit levels. This is not the era for that kind of statutory arrangement,” Anthony added.
The prime minister said that his administration would be forced to amend the existing legislation, in addition to exploring alternative forms of energy if the company maintains its high rates to consumers.
In a statement following his recent visit to Venezuela where he discussed accessing the benefits of PetroCaribe, an initiative through which Caracas offers oil on concessionary terms to participating countries, Anthony said that as far as he is concerned LUCLECs electricity rates, whatever the logic maybe, are unacceptably high.
In addition to being the sole provider of electricity there, LUCELEC, by reason of the Electricity Supply Act of 1994, is guaranteed a return on its investment through an electricity surcharge.
LUCELEC shareholders include the Canadian-based Emera, First Citizens Bank Ltd., National Insurance Corporation, the Castries City Council and the St. Lucia government.
In a statement posted on its website late last year, LUCELEC said electricity rates in St. Lucia were among the lowest in the Caribbean. It quoted the latest tariff study report produced by CARILEC, the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation to support its position.
It said the CARILEC report showed that for the first half of 2012, St. Lucia had the lowest electricity rates for residential customers among the 14 reporting countries.
Residential customers using 100 or 400 kilowatt hours or units in St. Lucia enjoyed better rates than their counterparts in the other OECS territories,
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says the Government is intent on transforming the way electricity is distributed island wide with a view to ensuring competition in the generation and distribution of the utility. Steven Jackson, Business Reporter This article was originally published online on Friday, January 18, 2013. Prospective investors complained about parking millions of US dollars as a security deposit via the government regulator Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) for bidding on 115 megawatts (MW) of clean energy projects. They also want safeguards against monopoly distributor Jamaica Public Service Company effectively underbidding them in applying for these projects – as it already controls the grid. JPS is one of 85 entities which submitted expressions of interest for the 115-megawatt renewable projects. Proposals must be submitted by April. The OUR noted the financial concerns while indicating that investors can use it as a JPS intermediary. Over 200 prospective investors – one-quarter foreigners – attended an OUR meeting at The Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston Thursday. The turnout “pleasantly surprised” OUR representatives. It indicated the financial interest in renewable energy that forms part of the Government’s 2030 vision to reduce the island’s costly dependence on fossil fuels. But one participant, general manager Wigton Wind Farm, Earl Barrett, complained of an additional financial burden requiring developers to put up at least 20 per cent of the financing of the project, which obviates full financing by banks. Responding to the concerns, Peter Johnson, OUR manager of utility monitoring and generating procurement, said: “We want some commitment from the developers themselves. We do not want them to be just a conduit. That is the idea. We want some commitment from the developer.” “It is not unreasonable,” added Courtney Francis, senior regulator of engineering at the OUR. Leo Williams, seeking to represent bidders, said inter-connection with JPS would pose another hurdle in seeking financing for projects. JPS can charge a higher fee to rivals to connect to the grid and a lower charge to itself, said Williams and other participants. “The question of JPS and the level playing is one of which I hope you have heard. The concern expressed relates to the inter-connection costs to the (bidders) which are totally uncapped from the JPS side. So JPS could indicate all types of requirements which could drive the inter-connection costs up for the (bidder),” said Williams, who then asked in vain for the regulator to provide some indicative empirical costings. “That would be rather difficult. We cannot give a per-unit cost because it depends on the technology, configuration, depends on where you are accessing the system from, the size, and a whole raft of things. It’s hard to quantify such costs,” Francis responded. Industry players negotiate interconnection based on a minimum rate set by the OUR. Renowned lawyer Frank Phipps queried the fairness of the inter-connection arrangement and whether in previous bids, rivals won over JPS bids. “There have been previous applications where the JPS won and others in which others have won,” stated Johnson, who later added: “Please be reminded that there are already other independent power providers on the system and interconnection was a part of those arrangements. We have not seen or heard of concerns by those persons. So we are not aware of a foundation for these concerns at this time,” said Johnson. Finally, Johnson sought to allay fears: “If you have difficulty dealing with the operator (JPS), we recommend that you submit queries to us.” Two Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica representatives asked why not allocate a maximum slot for JPS to bid and offer the remainder to other players. “We do not want suboptimal solutions. So we do not want to set aside anything without knowing it will generate least cost,” said Francis. “JPS has equal opportunity to bid and to participate as any other bidder.” Bidders must submit a refundable security deposit equivalent to one per cent of the total proposed cost. They must also submit a non-refundable fee of US$8,000. The security deposit can be sent to the OUR in the form of a cheque or a letter of credit. It can be held for up to a year, reasoned participants. Additionally, the OUR told the Steven Jackson, Business Reporter This article was originally published online on Friday, January 18, 2013. Prospective investors complained about parking millions of US dollars as a security deposit via the government regulator Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) for bidding on 115 megawatts (MW) of clean energy projects. They also want safeguards against monopoly distributor Jamaica Public Service Company effectively underbidding them in applying for these projects – as it already controls the grid. JPS is one of 85 entities which submitted expressions of interest for the 115-megawatt renewable projects. Proposals must be submitted by April. The OUR noted the financial concerns while indicating that investors can use it as a JPS intermediary. Over 200 prospective investors – one-quarter foreigners – attended an OUR meeting at The Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston Thursday. The turnout “pleasantly surprised” OUR representatives. It indicated the financial interest in renewable energy that forms part of the Government’s 2030 vision to reduce the island’s costly dependence on fossil fuels. But one participant, general manager Wigton Wind Farm, Earl Barrett, complained of an additional financial burden requiring developers to put up at least 20 per cent of the financing of the project, which obviates full financing by banks. Responding to the concerns, Peter Johnson, OUR manager of utility monitoring and generating procurement, said: “We want some commitment from the developers themselves. We do not want them to be just a conduit. That is the idea. We want some commitment from the developer.” “It is not unreasonable,” added Courtney Francis, senior regulator of engineering at the OUR. Leo Williams, seeking to represent bidders, said inter-connection with JPS would pose another hurdle in seeking financing for projects. JPS can charge a higher fee to rivals to connect to the grid and a lower charge to itself, said Williams and other participants. “The question of JPS and the level playing is one of which I hope you have heard. The concern expressed relates to the inter-connection costs to the (bidders) which are totally uncapped from the JPS side. So JPS could indicate all types of requirements which could drive the inter-connection costs up for the (bidder),” said Williams, who then asked in vain for the regulator to provide some indicative empirical costings. “That would be rather difficult. We cannot give a per-unit cost because it depends on the technology, configuration, depends on where you are accessing the system from, the size, and a whole raft of things. It’s hard to quantify such costs,” Francis responded. Industry players negotiate interconnection based on a minimum rate set by the OUR. Renowned lawyer Frank Phipps queried the fairness of the inter-connection arrangement and whether in previous bids, rivals won over JPS bids. “There have been previous applications where the JPS won and others in which others have won,” stated Johnson, who later added: “Please be reminded that there are already other independent power providers on the system and interconnection was a part of those arrangements. We have not seen or heard of concerns by those persons. So we are not aware of a foundation for these concerns at this time,” said Johnson. Finally, Johnson sought to allay fears: “If you have difficulty dealing with the operator (JPS), we recommend that you submit queries to us.” Two Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica representatives asked why not allocate a maximum slot for JPS to bid and offer the remainder to other players. “We do not want suboptimal solutions. So we do not want to set aside anything without knowing it will generate least cost,” said Francis. “JPS has equal opportunity to bid and to participate as any other bidder.” Bidders must submit a refundable security deposit equivalent to one per cent of the total proposed cost. They must also submit a non-refundable fee of US$8,000. The security deposit can be sent to the OUR in the form of a cheque or a letter of credit. It can be held for up to a year, reasoned participants. Additionally, the OUR told the
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell – FILE
Prospective investors flooded the 115MW project meeting hosted by the Office of Utilities Regulation, on Thursday, January 17, 2013, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.-CONTRIBUTED
Prospective investors flooded the 115MW project meeting hosted by the Office of Utilities Regulation, on Thursday, January 17, 2013, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.-CONTRIBUTED