There is no plan to abuse ministerial power, bypass the energy regulator or cut out the public under changes to the Utilities Regulations Act, argued Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams as he stood in strong defence of the legislation in Parliament on Tuesday.
He hit back at critics who have raised concerns about the minister’s role in approving new energy players under the changes, pointing out that the minister already has the authority under the current law.
Rather, he made clear that the measure is critical to help authorities be nimble in decision-making as the country presses ahead with ambitious plans to become 100 per cent carbon neutral by 2030.
Abrahams, who is currently acting as Attorney General, explained that Barbados has to move “exceedingly quickly” to set up battery storage since the national grid is virtually out of space to accommodate electricity from solar photovoltaic.
“So, in the same way that we moved very quickly at the beginning to try to populate the renewable energy sphere in Barbados, we now need to move exceedingly quickly, exceedingly quickly sir, to get the battery storage in order,” he said.
The minister suggested that with lingering supply chain challenges and other issues, the ability to make quick decisions is necessary for business efficacy and is best suited to the office of the Minister of Energy, dismissing suggestions it could lead to an abuse of power.
“The existing legislation actually contains a similar provision to the one being complained about that allows the minister, in certain circumstances, to bypass parts of the legislation and I think we have a culture of hysteria, Sir, that persons believe anything you give those in power or authority to do something, it automatically hearkens to corruption.
“Nobody complained about it before. I guess people didn’t even realise it was so not abused that nobody had reason to even know that it was there.”
Abrahams maintained that the decision to issue a licence is an administrative decision that is subject to review. He noted that while the minister can exercise his/her discretion, it has to be in the public interest.
“It is not simply that I can decide because I want to issue my friend a licence to do it in a way that I didn’t do it for somebody else,” he said. “I have to get past the public interest hurdle but not only get past the public interest hurdle, I also have to be able to defend my decision.”
Abrahams, an attorney-at-law, also pointed out that under the Administrative Justice Act, decisions of the executive are open to contest in a court and added that it would be “a very foolish minister to exercise that injudiciously and willy-nilly”.
“I don’t think, Sir, with the scrutiny that happens in the Cabinet itself, that a minister who decides to do his own thing or run off on a frolic of his own can look forward to being a minister for very long. So the safeguards, I think, are naturally built into the process.”
The Christ Church South East MP also rubbished suggestions that the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) or intervenors would be sidelined and denied the opportunity to represent the public interest.
He said: “We’re not bypassing the FTC, but the provision has to be there to make decisions when expediency is required. We are not trying to bypass the intervenors because the normal regime is what it always was. It is just that for exceptional circumstances, this provision applies, and so in most pieces of legislation, it also has a provision for the minister to exercise his discretion or her discretion in certain things.”
Abrahams explained that the country would be moving to competitive procurement to build out its storage resource capabilities, insisting that feed-in tariffs which were initially used to entice investment in the renewable energy sector, were inappropriate in the current scenario.
He told the House: “It’s like tendering. You want to provide a service, ok, put all your cards on the table. Tell us what it’s gonna cost, tell us what the price is going to be and we can then make a decision as to whether [it will be] you or somebody else. In our next phase, we are now looking not at where we are and what is going on but what powers the rest of Barbados, pretty much in perpetuity, because the aim is to eliminate the consumption of fossil fuels in Barbados.”
He also noted that the amendment allows a cap that sets a maximum starting price.
(SD)
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