In June, the Government established a Cabinet-appointed multi-sectoral committee to develop a five-year action plan for the use of energy in all sectors of Trinidad and Tobago. The committee has completed its work and has handed in its report to the Minister of Public Utilities, Sen. the Hon. Robert Le Hunte.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Public Utilities, the report will now be reviewed by the Minister before submitting it to the Cabinet for deliberation.
The report is expected to provide a definitive energy efficiency and energy conservation road map for Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries has also recently closed the request for proposals for grid scale renewable energy projects. These proposals are currently being evaluated.
This represents Government’ s commitment to the development and execution of a full-scale energy conservation and efficiency programme, in keeping with its Vision 2030, National Development Strategy, according to the release.
The press release states that the Government has recognized that Trinidad and Tobago has a high per capita consumption of electricity and is ranked among the most energy intensive countries in the world, it cannot be business as usual.
As such, the Ministry says that “a more creative use of the country’s current hydrocarbon reserves, is required. Improving energy conservation and energy efficiency across all sectors is one of the most efficient, cost effective ways to address the challenges of energy consumption and wastage, air pollution and global climate change, as well as the potential to boost economic growth, create jobs, enhance prosperity, support social development and advance environmental sustainability.”
Minister Le Hunte has described it as a “momentous occasion for the country and a win- win situation for all concerned, including households, businesses and the country at large.”
The EC&EE Committee was led by the Ministry of Public Utilities, Committee representatives were drawn from the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission, the Regulated Industries Commission, in addition to representatives from the Ministries of Energy, Trade and Industry, Public Administration, Education, Works and Transport, Tourism and Planning and Development. Other private sector organizations represented on the committee were the National Gas Company, the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards, the Environmental Management Authority and the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago.