Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Morgan, Hylton

THE FAILURE of the previous political administration to act decisively on the introduction of an energy alternative to wean Jamaica off its dependency on oil is hitting consumers hard in the pocket.

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) estimates that consumers could be paying between 15 and 25 per cent less for electricity bills if the People's National Party (PNP) administration had decided on an energy source to replace oil five years ago and acted to ensure that this was implemented.

Inertia irks lobbyists

Against this background, the outgoing head of the OUR, J. Paul Morgan, is urging the current Government to make a decision on natural gas or coal now and to get the ball a-rolling.

Morgan makes no secret that he is frustrated about the failure of the Government to act.

"We have been struggling with this decision for five years. Had we taken a decision five years ago, we would be commissioning plants today and consumers would now be seeing the benefits of that decision.

"If we are not careful, we will vacillate around this decision to the extent that the benefits we expect from it we are not going to gain," Morgan added.

JLP urged to move

But the man who led the former administration's charge to seek an alternative energy supply, Anthony Hylton, told The Gleaner there was no foot dragging or lack of political will.

The former envoy said the People's National Party accepted liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the alternative energy source and worked assiduously to make this a reality.

"It's not unusual for a project of this nature to take five years or even seven to 10 years," Hylton said, while pointing to the problems the former government encountered while trying to source LNG from Trinidad.

"We gave it our best shot and now we want to see more urgency from the present administration as the oil crisis has been worse since we left office," Hylton added.

It is an appeal which has found favour with Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who has already announced his administration's determination to quickly address the matter.

Going LNG

In a recent media briefing, the prime minister said the Cabinet has opted for LNG as the answer to the country's diversified energy needs.

Golding agrees that the time has come to end the prolonged energy diversification debate.

"We took a decision that this long debate as to whether we go LNG, or coal, has to come to an end.

"The decision that we have taken is that we are going to seek to diversify our energy arrangements by committing ourselves to establishing LNG facilities for the long haul," Golding told reporters at a post-Cabinet retreat briefing.

Coal vs LNG

That decision to choose LNG over coal is one that is endorsed by the PNP's Hylton who believes this is in the best interest of the environment.

"The persons who argue in favour of coal need to state what will be the environmental cost and how this will affect Jamaica, which advertises itself as an eco-friendly tourism destination," Hylton said.

But the matter is not that cut and dry for the OUR.

The outgoing head of the OUR agrees that LNG would be more environmentally friendly with less emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur or nitrogen oxide.

But Morgan says with developing technology, clean coal is becoming more and more available.

Coal readily available

Morgan is also concerned about the supply of LNG despite recent finds which should guarantee strong supply for the next 20 to 25 years.

There is no such concern about coal, which is widely available, particularly in the United States.

For Morgan, the decision of coal or LNG depends on the price at which Jamaica will acquire the product.

"LNG at the right price is the best fuel option. The critical issue here is at the right price.

"Coal prices have tended to be relatively stable over the years, but LNG price tends to track oil," Morgan added.

According to Morgan, the OUR favours the fuel which in the long run gives the best benefits to consumers.

"If we take a snapshot of the prices now, coal would be the better option, but if we can get natural gas at the right price over the long term, then LNG."

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com