Balancing Financial Responsibility for Battery Energy Storage Systems: Insights from Barbados Light & Power Company Intervention

The electricity grid has to be protected from instability, but customers of Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) must not be made to carry the heaviest part of the financial burden likely from the proposed battery energy storage systems (BESS).

That is the position of Ricky Went, an intervenor in several BL&P matters before the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), including the utility’s Application For Preapproval Of Investments And Cost Recovery Through The Clean Energy Transition Rider (CETR).

Went believes that a sharing of the burden of implementing BESS beyond BL&P’s existing five megawatts (MW) of such storage at its Trents, St Lucy Clean Energy Bridge plant should be spread among BL&P, independent power producers (IPPs), Government and consumers.

He was giving an assessment of the issue after BL&P announced that it had asked the FTC to review its May 6 decision on the CETR cost recovery application.

“Our team urged a phased approach and all the stakeholders must share the burden. End users, the rate payers, can’t carry all the burden,” the intervenor says.

The FTC approved 15 MW of the 90 MW BL&P applied to install as part of its Clean Energy Transition Plan project (CETP 1). BL&P said a technical evaluation has concluded that even with the 15MW in BESS, the electricity grid will be unable to accommodate additional distributed photovoltaic (DPV) systems.

As a result, the company wrote the FTC to request that “the quantum of BESS capacity, which was approved, be reconsidered, and highlighting the urgency of the requirement for synchronous condensers (SCOs) for additional grid stability”.

In addition, the Barbados Renewable Energy Association, of which BL&P is a member, said recently that the FTC should amend its decision to allow BL&P to procure enough additional storage to unlock the next tranche of at least 60 MW of connection capacity.

Went said the costs involved in expanding BESS were major and that the implication seemed to be that consumers would carry the heaviest burden.

In its CETR application BL&P was seeking to recover revenue of $131.3 million for its $684.89 million (CETP 1), but in its May 6 decision, the FTC approved $31.4 million on $182.6 million in investments.

Went said: “Our country has made phenomenal strides in renewable energy and is among the leaders in the region, if not the world. The Government’s policy which seeks to make Barbados a green society is virtually embraced by all. The IPPs have been well facilitated.”

“BL&P must be able to recover its investment but afforded the company this opportunity the FTC equally has to remain mindful of the impact increase in rates have on ratepayers. IPPs should meet part of the cost of BESS similar to what BlueCirle is contemplating doing with its investment.”

He added: “In the meanwhile, grant enough storage above the existing five MW to ensure the public grid is not at risk. The FTC can grant enough storage but close monitoring is critical if ratepayers are not to be priced out of the grid.”

Regarding what BREA is proposing, Went said it was important to determine who would be paying for the additional BESS capacity beyond the 15 MW approved by the FTC. BREA wants enough additional BESS to accommodate a further 60 MW of renewable energy on the electricity grid.