Gov’t sets new deadline to engage more renewable power generators
Published:Friday | March 3, 2023 | 1:29 AM
After missing a number of deadlines, Science, Energy and Technology Minister Daryl Vaz has given a final timeline for the Government to go to the market for more renewable power generators.
The minister indicated that if the new deadline of April 2023 is not met, his reputation would be on the line.
At a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee in Parliament on Thursday, Vaz said that the Government will be seeking to increase Jamaica’s energy capacity by 200 megawatts of renewable power.
“There is a pent-up demand and frustration by existing renewable companies and also international companies who have been knocking on the door for years,” said Vaz, noting that the Generation Procurement Entity (GPE) has been working assiduously to get a request for proposal out for renewables.
The GPE is a creature of the 2015 Electricity Act. Its job is to guide the procurement of new generating capacity for the national grid.
Vaz told his opposition counterpart, Phillip Paulwell, that the Government’s plan was to go to the market from August 2022, but it has since missed another two deadlines and is now set for next month.
He said that Cabinet is expected to receive the submission from the GPE this month.
Vaz also pointed out that the 200 megawatts of generating capacity would go directly to the local and overseas markets, adding that there would be no “right of first refusal” for the Jamaica Public Service Company.
“This is an international tender that is transparent … . It will go to Cabinet and we intend to get it out in April,” he said.
Paulwell, who quizzed Vaz on a number of issues in the energy sector, said he was disappointed that the minister had delayed the meetings of the joint select committee reviewing the Electricity Act of 2015.
Asked about the current price for electricity per kilowatt-hour, Vaz said it was between 36 and 42 cents.
“You know how horrified I am, because when I started in 2002, it was 42 cents per kilowatt-hour,” said Paulwell, noting that under his watch, the price was reduced to 28 cents per kilowatt-hour.