Earlier this month, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) released a stunning report, urging countries in the Latin America and Caribbean Region to take further steps to improve energy efficiency.

The report comes at an opportune time when like most of the world, the high price of crude oil continues to trickle down to consumers and is manifested at the gas pumps or through various bills here in the VI.

To achieve energy efficiency, new technologies must be welcomed and adopted.

A recent meeting of the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation (CARILEC) held in the Territory underscored the importance of forging alliances between countries.

Minister for Communications and Works, Julian Frazer noted that while CARILEC may not be of any assistance with mitigating the impact of rising fuel costs, the organisation can play an integral role in the VI by meeting its mission of technology transfer.

According to the IDB report, the region could save an estimated $36 billion over the next decade by adopting affordable and available technologies to improve their energy efficiency.

According to the report, Latin American and Caribbean countries would need to invest roughly $17 billion in compact fluorescent lighting, efficient motors and other measures to achieve a 10 percent reduction in electricity consumption by 2018. That savings would amount to approximately 143,000 gigawatt hours.

But if the region does not become more energy efficient, it will need to build an estimated 328 open cycle gas-powered electricity plants (250MW each) just to produce the same 143,000 gigawatt hours of electricity, according to the report. At today’s prices, using extremely conservative assumptions, it would cost around US$53 billion to build those plants.

Our local electricity company, the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) has in recent months seen its fair share of distribution problems ranging from faulty lines to cumbersome maintenance being effected to everyone of the eight power generators installed at its Pockwood Pond location. Notwithstanding the effects of the recent period of heavy rainfalls that have contributed to these interruptions, our utilities should not be managed in this way where it is almost at a point of collapse.

To have all eight power generators undergoing repairs simultaneously is unacceptable and unnerving.

Divinely so, the problems are occurring during the low tourists season, however, there are hundreds of residents directly affected by the above normal power outages coupled with serious water problems.

Even more frustrating, is the slothfulness of the hierarchy of the BVIEC to effectively communicate with consumers through the media the extensive difficulties being experienced.

This situation points to a human resource problem bordering on incompetence and requires urgent corrective action.

Technology is not the only answer, but human resource is also crucial to the effective functioning of the electricity sector through energy efficiency.

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