Measures need to be taken to develop a economically sound and accessible energy source for the country, according to the Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce.
Hon. Terry Eugene Lister, JP, MP, in
Hamilton. Mr Lister was elected to the House of Assembly in 1998 and was appointed Minister of Development, Opportunity and Government Services the following day. He has previously served as the Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister and Minister of Works and Engineering. He is currently the Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce.
Our Premier, Dr Ewart Brown, established the Department of Energy within the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce following the election of 18 December 2007, with the intention of creating a regulatory environment to foster the reduction of Bermuda’s reliance on fossil fuels. There were a number of issues driving this goal, among these being the cost of oil, the scarcity of oil, emissions and climate change.
Main sources of energy Idyllic Bermuda relies almost entirely on fossil fuels, actually 98 per cent, to meet its energy requirements. The government has a waste management facility through which waste to energy provides the remaining two per cent of our energy needs. Additionally, as the oil for our main plant has to be
imported, price rises create an imbalance of foreign exchange as payments leave the Island. Bermuda imports roughly 1,700,000 barrels of oil per year, thus a rise in price from $40.00 per
Hon. Terry Lister, JP, MP
barrel to $140.00 per barrel creates an additional negative cash flow of $170 million! Of course, along with this issue comes imported inflation.
As is the case in many other parts of the developed world, the frugality of the post-World War II era has vanished and has been replaced over the last 30 or so years with increasing consumerism. As a result of this, increased consumption has increased wastefulness but perhaps more alarming is the financial ability of Bermudians to be wasteful. This is especially evident when we look at the price of oil. Until the steep price rises of the summer of 2008, Bermudians, for the most part, had been price insensitive to costs, still maintaining an enviable standard of living. The gasoline at the pumps sold at $8.00 per gallon for some time with little public discussion was testament to this. It has been predicted that if no interventions take place, electricity usage will grow at a rate of 1.5 per cent per annum over the next 20 years.
The Parliamentarian | 2009: Issue One - Bermuda | 17