KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – This country’s sole commercial supplier of electricity, VINLEC, officially opened its EC$170 million power plant at Lowman Bay on Thursday.
Speaking at the event, Thornley Myers, chief executive officer of VINLEC said that the plant is among the most advanced and efficient in the Caribbean.
It will supply 17.4 megawatts of energy and provide 60 per cent of the electricity supplied to the national grid in this multi-island nation.
Myers further said that the power plant was reconfigured to use heavy fuel oil after an analysis of the environmental.
“The management and staff of VINLEC are committed to operating this facility in the most efficient manner for the benefit of all Vincentians,” he said.
The chief executive further congratulated the company’s in-house management team for completing the project within budget.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said at the ceremony that his Unity Labour Party government was introducing measure to facilitate greater energy efficiency.
He said that solar panels will be installed on the roof of the Financial Complex — the building in which his office is located — and this will save about EC$1,400 in electricity cost every month, an investment that will pay for itself in seven years.
He said similar systems would be installed at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, other existing government buildings, and those under construction.
“We want to encourage people to conserve energy, it is too expensive a commodity, too scarce a commodity to treat [casually],” Gonsalves further said.