(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana:) The Caribbean Community Secretariat will convene the First Meeting of Experts and Stakeholders concerning the Development of Harmonised Legislation for the Reform of the Electric Sector from 13–15 February 2008 at the Fort Young Hotel, Roseau, Dominica.

The meeting, sponsored by the UNDP/GEF Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP), is the first of two, to facilitate stakeholder consultation towards building regional consensus on draft model legislation in different national jurisdictions of the Community.

The meeting serves as a forum also:

• To build capacity among stakeholders to enhance their decision-making regarding the role that renewable energy can play in a reformed electric sector.

• To share information and regional success stories in policy reform, renewable energy, innovative regulations and proactive utility initiatives, and examine international “best practices” in electric sector reform and how it relates to the small autonomous utilities in the Region.

Participants will include the Chief Parliamentary Counsel of Member States, officials from the Ministries with responsibility for Energy and Renewable Energy, representatives of regional electric utilities and regional regulatory bodies with responsibility for the electric sector.

Harmonised legislation for the reform of the electric sector across the Region would foster reduction in electric tariffs to customers, reduction of imported fuel and its foreign exchange costs, hedging against volatile fossil fuel costs, enhanced security of energy supply, enhanced competitiveness of regional economies, and reduction in local environmental emissions.