OAS meeting underscores critical need for shift to sustainable energy

–as Gov’t struggles to push Amaila Falls project forward

ASSISTANT Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, joined ministers and high-level authorities on energy in the Caribbean in Miami yesterday to address energy and climate challenges in preparation for a meeting of ministers in 2015 under the umbrella of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA).And he contends that there must be a shift in the energy paradigm to initiatives that are more sustainable.

Mr Ramdin opened the discussion, stressing that the shift toward sustainable energy is critical.
The focus on sustainable energy sources by the OAS comes at a time when the current Administration is involved in its own fight to advance the much-touted Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP).
Slated to be this nation’s most ambitious undertaking, the Amaila Falls project is touted to be able to provide Guyanese with a cheaper, reliable and sustainable electricity supply. It involves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of West-Central Guyana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong Rivers meet. Electricity produced there would be delivered to Georgetown and Guyana’s second largest town, Linden.
The AFHP is anticipated to result in substantial savings to the nation’s coffers, particularly in terms of foreign exchange for the purchase of heavy fuel oil.
Additionally, the potential benefits of a more stable and reliable source of energy through the advancement of hydroelectricity was also targeted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), last December, as an area for continued focus.

PARLIAMENTARY FIGHT
The allocation of $1.3B for the provision of the Amaila Falls access road and related structures was effectively given the green light from the Parliamentary Committee of Supply, in its review of the Ministry of Public Works 2014 budgetary allocation, in April this year.
When the allocation was put to the vote, Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Government’s side of the House voted in support of the ministry’s capital expenditures, which included the Amaila project.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted ‘No’, while the Alliance For Change (AFC) abstained. It was this abstention that allowed the project to go through.
On July 18, 2013, the combined Opposition in Parliament defeated the Hydroelectric Power (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly, and in August the Government took the legislation back to the House and received the backing of the Alliance For Change (AFC,) but A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) voted down the bill and motion.

COMMITTED
President Donald Ramotar’s consistent position on the matter is that economies must serve the people, not vice-versa, and with expected savings of $9B in electricity subsidies, as well as savings on the $40B fuel bill, enormous contributions could be made to infrastructural development, which is particularly needed in Guyana’s hinterland to aid and accelerate economic progress.
At one of his press conferences, the Head of State disclosed that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is “still on board” for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP).“We are working very hard to bring this back on stream,” he said.
Mr. Ramotar stressed that the project is not dead, despite the challenges in the National Assembly relative to securing support for funding of the project.“We are very close to taking a decision on what direction to go to put Amaila back on stream,” the President said.

SIMILAR CALLS
In July, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, at the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) 35th meeting of the Region’s heads, underscored the renewable energy potential of Guyana.
Also, the President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Warren Smith, at the Bank’s 44th annual meeting in the latter part of May this year, noted that the possibility of Guyana being able to export surplus hydropower to the Caribbean, as well as the potential benefits for the local economy.
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Persaud, has also been vocal on the issue and recently called for the development of Guyana’s hydropower capacity, particularly given that a cheap energy supply could increase Guyana’s competitiveness in the several emerging sectors; it is more economical to establish “energy farms” as compared to paying “significant costs” for fossil fuels.
Yesterday’s OAS meeting also included discussions of the policy implications of energy trends in the Caribbean, energy and climate goals of the attending member states, and visions and goals for the 2015 ministerial meeting, among other issues.

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