Develop four-tier electricity pricing

This was among other considerations offered by Christopher Narine- Thomas, chairman of the Energy Chamber’s Energy Efficiency and Alternate Energy Committee. He was speaking at a forum entitled ‘Connecting Citizens with their Ene rgy Resources’, held by the TT Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI) at the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce head-office in Westmoorings.

Narine-Thomas delivered the feature address, noting that many households are using electricity as if it were a commercial entity. He noted that 43 percent of households fell in the highest band of electricity use in TT. “People in residential spaces are approaching commercial rates of consumption,” he said. TT was using electricity on a developed nation status, he said. Narine-Thomas noted that subsidies on gas which led to the subsidy on electricity often led to inefficiencies in the system.

People could easily turn off things such as water heaters and use less air conditioning units which would result in great savings to the country. As a means of energy conservation as well as utilising energy saved to channel into other money-earning avenues, Narine-Thomas suggested that there over a cap and those who went over should pay an unsubsidised fee.

“A fourth tier pricing should be created for the more affluent in society,” he suggested.

A representative of the Ministry of Public Utilities referred to the Trinidad and Tobago as the most lit country in the world, noting that many in the country often left their electricity on. He also spoke to the country’s potential move toward the use of renewable energy such as solar energy. Solar energy, he said, each year the costs for setting up solar energy declined each year and that by 2024 solar would become competitive with coal, one of the cheapest sources of energy in the world. Better technology has led to cheaper solar installation in the world. Noting the other Caribbean countries such as Barbados and St Lucia have utilised residential solar energy, there problem was an issue of scale as opposed to TT which had an issue of economics.

Solar energy would become economic in TT by 2027. “Every few months it gets closer and closer to where we are, the Government has set a target of ten percent renewable energy by 2021 and so a lot of people ask if that is achievable. “From the scale perspective we have the scale to get it done it depends on what part of the electricity sector and the pricing that you’re looking at…” He said despite claims that there was “variability of generation-sun does not shine at night and the wind does not blow all the time,” solar and other sources of renewable energy could easily be implemented in TT if backed up by the use of natural gas.