Government Saves $150 Million through ESEEP

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the Government realised savings of $150 million last year through the Energy Security and Efficiency Enhancement Project (ESEEP).

“That frees up money for other social programmes and to offset other expenses of the Government,” the Minister said.

He was speaking at the Award of Prizes for the ‘Energy Matters Competition’ on February 2 at the Appliance Traders Limited (ATL) showroom in Kingston.

The Minister pointed out that the country is immediately seeing the results of the project, “where we practise more energy-efficiency techniques”.

“We want to encourage more Jamaicans to practise energy conservation and efficiency,” Dr. Wheatley implored.

ESEEP aims to promote private-sector investment in the energy sector by updating the regulatory framework, preparing projects for investment decisions and increasing the contribution of renewable energy in electricity.

Additionally, the project seeks to improve energy efficiency and security in key areas of the economy, including implementation of fuel diversification, as well as strengthen institutional and technical capacities in the Ministry’s energy division for policy and strategy formulation, investment planning, programme implementation and sector regulation.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Appliance Traders Limited, Danville Walker, said the company is pleased to partner with the Government on an initiative that promises to put Jamaica on a path to greater energy sustainability and efficiency.

“The Ministry has a thrust to reduce the country’s energy footprint with the use of inverter technology, such as those used in the appliances our winners received today, solar and other forms of renewable energy,” he said.

The competition ran from November 17 to January 31, 2018, and is part of the Government’s public education thrust to increase public awareness about ESEEP and other energy-related developments in Jamaica, and to foster an appreciation of the energy conservation and diversification programmes that are being implemented under Jamaica’s Energy Vision 2030 Plan.

Winners received weekly prizes of a $10,000 Jamaica Public Service (JPS) gift certificate and monthly prizes of an inverter refrigerator and two inverter microwave ovens donated by ATL.

Grand prize winners for the month of January, Albert Chin, who won an inverter refrigerator; and Annmarie Tulloch and Savasha Savage, who won inverter microwaves, were randomly selected from persons providing the correct answer to energy-related questions online.