The CARILEC Resiliency and Energy Efficiency Project (CAREEP) has encountered some unforeseen delays which could impact the timeline within which the project intends to achieve its objectives.
Speaking with 284News, CARILEC Chairman and General Manager of BVIEC Leroy Abraham explained that this was as a result of a low uptake of the initiative.
“The roll out of the project has not attracted the volume… It’s supposed to roll out to 5 different Overseas Territories. We’re right now in discussions to see how we can essentially increase uptake because it is quite important at this particular time”, he said.
The project targets residents of the BVI, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Sint Maarten, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands, and aims to build energy resilience and assist the islands in reducing their climate vulnerability.
It is being implemented with funding from the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme to the tune of €467,715 and, on paper, is supposed to last 18 months.
At this current stage however, half way through its scheduled time line, Abraham noted that efforts are ongoing to get more people on board so that the project can progress.
“At this point and stage we’re discussing within the CAREEP facilitators to see how we can increase uptake in all the various jurisdictions… such that we can start the next phase of it, which is the independent energy audits that need to be conducted. It is a very, very important initiative for the region”, he noted.
Abraham went on to explain that within the current global environment, it is only to the benefit of consumers that they support such initiatives.
“The low hanging fruit is being able to manage and utilise energy conservation to reduce your bill. If you’re able to reduce the amount of your consumption because that’s what the bill is mostly about – how much energy you consume. So if you’re able to reduce your consumption then ultimately you’re able to reduce the cost”, he said.
Aspects of the project include the implementation of a regional public education and awareness programme centred on household energy conservation measures, online training for professionals on the provision of new sustainable energy services, the roll out of an e-learning platform to guide households on how to conduct energy self-audits and the development of a set of policy recommendations to establish enabling frameworks for sustainable energy services.