Interim Committee to Examine LUCELEC Report

Contact: John Emmanuel

Friday, October 06, 2000 - Government’s position on the continued function and operations of the island’s lone power company - the St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) – will be made public in a matter of weeks.

That’s according to Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Kenny Anthony, who on Thursday,  was presented with the findings of a report into the company’s operations by a three-member Commission.

According to Dr. Anthony, now that the report is in, an interim committee will be appointed comprising representatives of both LUCELEC and government to begin to go over the report’s many recommendations with a fine toothed comb.

The three-member commission was chaired by Professor Kenneth Julien and included Frank Mc. Conney and Joel Huggins. According to Professor Julien, although the commission did not address directly terms of reference relating to energy conservation measures and price and other incentives to encourage a more even demand for power, several areas being disputed by the public were considered.

He says members of the commission found the review exercise interesting and rewarding and either collectively or on an individual basis, stood ready to assist the Government and LUCELEC in carrying forward whatever recommendations that are proposed.

Meantime Prime Minister Anthony has once again hinted at government’s inability to continue bearing the burden of skyrocketing fuel prices. Dr. Anthony says many St. Lucians had not fully appreciated the gravity of the global fuel crisis and its impact on the local economy.

To date government has been subsidizing fuel prices to help cushion the impact of the rising cost of fuel on the world market so that the increases are not passed on to consumers at the pump. Government is reported to have lost well over $20 million in fuel subsidies this year alone.

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