Energy bill outlines govt's push to diversify power distribution, generation

A former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) director told Guardian Business that the Electricity Bill, 2024, which was tabled in Parliament yesterday, outlines the government’s focus on diversifying power distribution, transmission and generation.

“It looks like they are trying to divide up the energy supply, transmission, distribution and also have more energy providers through solar, as opposed to through fossil fuels,” said Deal, former head of the BCCEC’s energy and environment division.

“It also looks like they are talking about energy providers in The Bahamas. Right now, we have Grand Bahama, Spanish Wells and New Providence. Those are the only three energy providers I know about, but it looks to me that they are trying to have more energy providers, possibly by way of solar.”

Section (52) (1) of the bill allows for the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA) to approve any operation that’s interested in providing solar, wind or such other renewable energy sources as may be prescribed in its regulations.

Section (52) (3) also provides that “URCA may, where the owner or operator of a renewable energy generating station contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of this section or regulations made pursuant to this section, direct BPL to disconnect the station from the electrical grid.”

Deal added: “So, using as an example, they want to solarize Abaco and have Abaco have an energy field that would produce energy and sell it back to BPL. That’s kind of what I’m seeing, because they also talk about acquiring land and all kinds of stuff.”

Section (11) allows for the minister responsible for land to acquire land on behalf of BPL. Section (11) (4) says, “Land acquired under this section shall be conveyed in the name of BEC and BEC may convey or lease such land to BPL.”

A more controversial addition to the bill is the allowance of BPL to change rates without reference to URCA. The bill states in section eight that without prejudice to the preceding sections, “URCA shall, for a period of three years from the date of the commencement of this act, adopt and apply the tariff rate for any public electricity supplier or authorized public electricity supplier.

“All public electricity suppliers or authorized public electricity suppliers shall, no less than six months prior to the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (8), submit to URCA a tariff review application, which shall include justification for the proposed adjusted tariff rate for electricity services of BPL, which upon approval is to take effect from the date of the expiration of the said period.”

Deal said: “It looks like they were planning on having the rates raised or changed, that URCA would not have anything to do with that for three years.”