Home / International News / OECS Launches Energy Regulatory Body

OECS Launches Energy Regulatory Body

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada CMC – The Eastern Caribbean Energy Regulatory Authority (ECERA) was launched here, on Thursday night, with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell calling for the liberalization of the energy sector in the Caribbean.

Mitchell said the high rates for electricity in most of the member states of the sub-regional Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) coupled with the call for greater dependence on green energy, have left the region with no choice but to move swiftly ahead with the liberalization process.

“The time therefore is now right for us to proceed with liberalization of the energy market, with appropriate competition focused on our two fundamental objectives – electricity prices and lower carbon footprint.

“We have no choice but to move forward expeditiously on this important and revolutionary initiative,” he told delegates, adding that for the Caribbean to develop as a region, electricity needs to be reliable, affordable and sustainable.

He said the region was well endowed with renewable energy to meet its needs.

“The development of the Caribbean requires that the supply of energy be reliable, accessible and affordable to all. It is my view that in this day and age, if you are left without this service…it’s almost a way of saying that we want to condemn you to a life of poverty,” he said, noting “a life where the whole revolution in education would be out of your reach”.

The broad objective of the ECERA Project, which is being managed by the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat and funded by the World Bank, is to establish a regional approach to the development of the electricity sector in the participating OECS countries.

So far Grenada and St. Lucia are the only two countries of the sub-region that have signed on to the project but St. Lucia’s Minister responsible for Renewable Energy, Dr. James Fletcher said ECERA can only become a viable entity if at least four countries sign on to the project.

He is advocating for the early setup of a mechanism that would encourage the other OECS member-states to join.

“The government of St. Lucia wishes to strongly recommend to the regional energy committee that it devotes the next few months to the designing of a mechanism that will give the other four independent member states of the OECS, the comfort and the space that they require to join ECERA,” he said, adding “for ECERA to be regional and viable, we need a minimum of four contracting states”.

World Bank representative for the OECS, Alessandro Legrottaglie, said the Bank was also strongly encouraging other OECS countries to sign on to the project.

“The World Bank strongly encourages other OECS countries to join this effort and stands ready to assist in every possible way.”

Outgoing OECS Director General, Dr. Len Ishmael, reiterated the need for the region to take a collective approach to removing the barriers to integration and to forge ahead with the production and distribution of renewable energy.

ECERA is being administered in two phases; the first being the establishment of the body and the second being making it operational.

The first phase of the project is expected to last two years and has been funded by the World Bank to a tune of US$5.6 million.

The governments said ECERA “will broadly be responsible for regulatory oversight of the electricity suppliers, including utilities and independent power producers” and that its functions would include the design and implementation of mechanisms to reduce electricity costs; the development of measures to reduce cost volatility by diversifying energy supply away from fossil fuels and ensure least cost investments in electricity supply.

It will also be responsible for setting rules for market entry and exit for producers of electricity from renewable energy sources and possibly licensing such producers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Scroll To Top