Regional energy company leaders and industry experts are on St. Thomas this week for the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation’s annual CEO conference, which so far has given participants the chance to talk over everything from ongoing regional projects to sustaining a viable energy portfolio in the midst of a challenging economy.
This year’s conference is cohosted by the V.I. Water and Power Authority, whose executive director also serves as CARILEC’s vice chairman. According to Hugo Hodge Jr., the CARILEC consortium was started 25 years ago with nine member countries, but has since expanded to include more than 30 countries and several more industry representatives.
"It started with us offering training to employees, and that has also grown to 25 trainings a year and five conferences, including the annual CEO conference, which gives us a chance to see what others within our region are doing, what is working and what is not," Hodge said at the conference Tuesday. Hodge said the consortium is primarily geared toward trying to "bring change" within the energy industry.
"We all know that we have to make some changes given that the fuel we all depend on to produce power is very expensive with high rates regionally," Hodge said. "But we’re all looking at ways to cut that cost and bring some relief to our customers."
The conference, which coincides with WAPA’s 50 anniversary and CARILEC’s 25 anniversary, kicked off Sunday and runs through Wednesday afternoon. So far, Hodge said, events have included everything from leadership seminars to a webinar with Condoleezza Rice and former GE leader Jack Welch.
"We’ve also been talking about bringing renewables onto the grid and WAPA will get a chance to talk about our ongoing propane conversion. There are four or five islands here that are interested in that," Hodge said, adding that WAPA will also have the chance to showcase its propane, solar and other alternative projects Thursday when participants take a "technical tour" of the authority’s plant and facilities.
Several participants have been involved in sessions highlighting their various energy projects and how they are looking to scale back on their current large-scale power operations. Trinidad and Tobago, for example, is charting the course with liquefied natural gas and speakers said at the conference Tuesday that the islands’ location is ideal for integrating the nation into the regional energy market.
In 2013, the British firm Gasfin Development announced plans to begin supplying French Caribbean territories with liquefied natural gas and to start construction of a plant in Trinidad. Gasfin founder Roland Fisher told CARILEC members Tuesday that not only is gas cheap in the U.S., but the undersupply and high demand for energy within the Caribbean region makes LNG a good alternative to fuel.
"It’s hard to support a large-scale energy infrastructure," Fisher said Tuesday. For utilities paying high prices for storage, shipping and two- to three-month shipments for fuel, the trend has been to scale back, and Fisher said LNG requires only a "mid-scale" infrastructure.
The company has proposed a partnership with Trinidad’s government, whose state-run National Gas Company has been working to bring cleaner, more efficient energy resources to the island, Fisher said.
Hodge later said, "During this conference, we’re also focusing on economic outlooks for the energy industry and managing through these difficult economic times. And in looking at what some of our Caribbean neighbors are doing, I think everyone will be able to get a really good grasp on how we can find creative ways to do that."
