Should we rename the BL&P Holding Co, The Pasture?

Barbados as a country is in deep debt to a totally unregulated holding company.

FTC supposedly regulate BL&P but the real earnings are sheltered in the holding company.

Who allowed this situation to arise?

What are you saying?

Are you asking us to believe that an elite squad is responsible for managing/decision making at BL&P?

What does this say about the competency of the current leadership or is there something we are missing?

Ya think!

I am happy I found this blog site as it has given me quite a bit of insight into the state of the energy sector here in Barbados. I am a recent graduate and I pursed studies in engineering specializing in sustainable energy systems, which are more or less systems that incorporate conventional and renewable forms of energy production along with energy efficiency techniques to produce a sustainable package. I have been raiding the internet and trying to contact various private and government places to see where I can fit in and I have learnt more reading through these blogs so far than any other place.

Firstly I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on how I can get my hands on the budget’s energy sector development proposals. Furthermore I would like to know if there is anyone in the blog ‘crowd’ who works in the energy sector who is not an employee of the BL&P. (Contact me at ccb_8@hotmail.com)

I believe I may be able to shed some light on the lack of a concrete RE policy and investments of the BL&P out side of the ‘alternative’ energy field. In most countries both developed and developing there is much uncertainty about the state of the oil namely its extraction, and refining. As well as in the production of electricity. Many speculate that the rise in oil prices has been caused by one or more of four factors:

1. Political ploys to regulate world energy consumption and the rate of development.
2. The peak oil paradigm.
3. A refining capacity bottleneck.
4. Thermodynamic recovery limitations.

All this said it is difficult to produce models in an uncertain climate, so many countries which have the resources have poured much resources (though insignificant in comparison to their GDP) into renewables and research of energy alternatives because although there is much discrepancy and indecision as to the cause and result of current energy issues one thing that is unanimous is that oil reserves will be depleted at some point in time and steps must be taken to reduce and eventually eliminate our dependence on oil. However time periods are very tricky as investing in the wrong technologies or investing in those still under developed can have serious repercussions. So I say all this to say that in many cases governments are scared of implementing new technologies especially in the renewable energy sector, yes many of these things have been tested and proven to work in many occasions but in many occasions many have failed. And one of the interesting peculiarities of renewable energies is that they are usually very site (climate) dependent and expertise dependent (in terms of design and installation). So I am not shocked at the government’s conservative attitude towards new-energy policies. Please note that this does not mean I condone the current pussyfooting around the matter either, because blessed is the man who can see opportunities before they become obvious.

So solutions………education, investment, research and development. What is best for us? Solar PV? Wind? Solar thermal? Biofuels? Wave energy? There are many debates as to which is better and most economical etc but we can only determine such by developing scaled pilot projects of each giving engineers the chance to ‘fiddle around’ with the technology determining the best configurations and the lowest costs. With this preliminary information informed decisions can be made for larger projects and larger investments. That is the general model for any renewable energy project in any part of the world. No one is going to invest millions upon millions of dollars to import solar panels be it at the individual or governmental level without an assurance that they will work well and last as long as they should. I know many would say that there are a few installations working well throughout the island (I have gathered info on the ones at the Future Centre, Harrison’s Cave and Seawell) but from my (albeit limited) research into these systems there seems to be little to no empirical data on their performance to date only estimations or singular readings. So narrowing down and testing all viable options and even those that may not seem viable (maybe have a ‘real’ national innovators competition with a section specifically geared towards renewable energy inventions and applications and ‘real’ recognition and ‘real’ incentives) is the first step towards a concrete policy. At the end of the day BL&P cannot be castigated for covering their own butts, it is the first law of business, keep your company afloat. It is up to us to constantly present our concerns until others listen. I will be approaching government with my ideas and try my best to exercise what I have learnt and all those who have the expertise, the technical know how or just the drive and interest in the topic should be doing the same.

The Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL) announced yesterday that it recently acquired two Spin Lab Bird Dog Analyzers (Mobile Test Bench) that allow laboratory-standard tests of meters to be done in the field.

Director of GPL’s loss reduction programme Samaroo Ramtahal at yesterday’s briefing/demonstrative session at the utility’s Middle Street office said such equipment will employ very accurate field tests to determine whether a meter is under or over-recording. Moreover, such technology will have the capacity to instantly print a report premised on the findings of the test which will be discussed with the consumer.

Such information will moreover be downloaded into GPL’s data base. Consumers have complained frequently in the past about over-recording and the utility on the other hand has voiced concerns about meters being tampered with to give lower readings.

GPL says that these instruments will facilitate the testing of all types of meters including the single-type phase, three-phase, electronic and electro- mechanical meters.

It was contended that this innovation will assist significantly in the prevention of electricity theft which has constituted a formidable impediment to the operations of GPL.

Also, customers whose meters are found to be over-recording, will see their accounts receiving the appropriate credits. Thus, Ramtahal posited, the goal behind technology acquisition was improved customer service.

However, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, retired Justice Prem Persaud who attended yesterday’s media briefing criticised the proceedings positing that the briefing/demonstrative session should have been open to the general public and the consumers groups in the thrust to promote greater involvement and awareness.

CEO of GPL Bharrat Dindyal who also briefed the media, addressed the issue of fires that are allegedly due to the quality of GPL’s supply. Dindyal stated that invariably such fires are caused by faults associated with the wiring of the home which is the responsibility of the proprietor of that home.

This diagnosis was followed by the recommendation by commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission, John Caesar that GPL could assist in the certification of these homes.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/power-company-unveils-new-meter-testers/

New energy source set to boost Caribbean tourism
21 July 2008
Tourism in the Caribbean is set to benefit from the discovery of a new energy source on the island of Nevis, according to reports.

The small isle is expected to see an increase in visitors next year when it begins to derive energy from a geo-thermal source situated in a volcanic mountain range, TravelMole reports.

A single site on the island is expected to produce enough power for Nevis and its sister island of St Kitts as well as other neighbouring locations.

Garcia Thompson-Hendrickson, head of the Nevis Tourist Board, said the island has been given an opportunity to promote high-quality, low-impact tourism.

The destination reportedly plans to promote the natural sides of its tourism industry, such as its lush environment, and will also boost awareness of its culinary culture with a food festival in October.

Nevis, which is currently one of the less well-known Caribbean islands, is located in the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 80km west of Antigua.

Thanks for the confidence you have in us but it is for Barbadians who have the knowledge of how this monopoly has been operating to come clean. We have heard some things but it would not be fair to write about it because we don’t know. We are sure some people who visit BU maybe aware about the role of the consultants etc.

It is a publicly traded company and the investment strategy must be questioned by shareholders. It would be interesting to find out if the query has ever been raised at an annual general meeting. We suspect that the lack of discussion about this matter reflects the lack of maturity in the area of business analysis.

Quite possibly this is BL&P’s fear, more so that individual home owners putting up PV panels.