Six Caribbean countries to benefit from new energy initiative

KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – Six Caribbean countries will benefit from an US$500,000 energy statistical capacity-building initiative that is being spearheaded by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE).

Jamaica, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti and Suriname are included in the initiative that seeks to provide reliable and up-to-date data for the energy planning process as well as allow for analysis of the energy sector in an integral and strategic way.

OLADE’s Information Management and Training Coordinator, Paola Carrera, said the programme is part of the support OLADE is providing to countries within the region.

“Within this initiative, we are trying to promote not only capacity-building in terms of the Ministries of Energy but also the stakeholders, to create a culture of delivering energy statistics on a regular basis in order to identify the gaps, harness the information and load all of that information from the renewable and non-renewable sources into an energy information system,” she said.

She said that each country will be responsible for tabulating the information and keeping it up todate.

“This energy information system will be a national system,” she said, encouraging the participating countries to ensure that the data they are entering into the system are accurate and reliable so that the policymakers can make better decisions based on the information provided.

“(This will assist) in developing new energy policies and projects (as well as to have) information,” she said, adding that this can be used to source and acquire new funding from donor agencies.

The initiative is being funded by the World Bank and is slated for 18 months.

Other benefits of the system include: official, standardised, reliable and updated information; the enabling of studies and analysis on a national and regional level; the provision of the basis for energy planning; facilitation of decision-making for the adoption of energy policies; generation of comparative analysis among countries; delivery of the most important indicators of the energy sector in terms of sustainable development.

The OLADE is an international public entity of cooperation, coordination and advising. Its fundamental purpose is integration, protection, conservation, defence and rational use of energy resources of the region.