Increase in Customer Bills Expected as Barbados Light & Power Company Defends Rental of Generators for Grid Demands
November 7, 2024
Barbados Light & Power Company defends renting generators to meet grid demands, resulting in higher customer bills. FTC approves cost recovery through Fuel Clause Adjustment. Plans for battery storage capacity announced.
The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BLPC) is defending its decision to rent generators that will result in its customers having to pay higher bills.
BLPC’s Managing Director Roger Blackman said on Wednesday that the rental is necessary to meet the demands on the grid.
In a decision announced a few days ago, the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) approved a BLPC application to use the Fuel Clause Adjustment (FCA) to recover, from its customers, the cost it is shelling out to rent and operate 11MW of temporary Aggreko generator units. That cost is estimated at $856 046 and the FTC said there would be a “modest increase in monthly bills” as that sum is passed on to customers.
“The reason that rental generation is necessary is that as the demand rises, those capacity needs must be met by dispatchable power. That rental is there in the short term to achieve that objective while we get batteries and solar, and build out the energy goals that have been set for the island,” he said briefly.
He was speaking at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre as the Ministry of Energy announced a Call for Request For Information (RFI) for new battery storage capacity which will unlock the grid and allow for the onboarding of renewable energy.
The FTC has approved the rental for at least 12 consecutive months from the actual commercial operation date of the units. The regulator stated that a further 12-month approval might be granted if it is satisfied that market conditions warrant the need for additional capacity at that time.
“In such circumstances, the BLPC will be required to formally inform the Commission of the need for the extension of approval, and any revised contractual details no later than four months prior to the expiration of the approved 12 months,” the FTC said in its October 29 ruling. “Costs associated with the rental of the 11 MW capacity are approved for recovery via the FCA and shall commence one month from the date of this decision for the approved period.”
Costs to be recovered will be contingent on the BLPC’s ability to demonstrate that the 11 MW Aggreko units are utilised and dispatched according to demand.
(BT)
