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| Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy and Telecommunications, Senator Darcy Boyce (FP)?? |
A call has gone out for Government, the private sector and householders to collaborate in their efforts to reduce energy consumption.
The advice has come from Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy and Telecommunications, Senator Darcy Boyce, who was delivering the feature address today at the launch of the Support to the Sustainable Energy Framework of Barbados Pilot Project, at the Accra Beach Hotel.
Senator Boyce said Barbados was not even in a position to produce the amount of oil needed for one day, and because of this, he believed "it must be all hands on deck to respond to this issue.
"The domestic demand for oil is about 10,000 barrels per day.?? Since we produce less than 1,000 barrels per day, we must import more than 9,000 barrels of oil per day.?? The cost of oil imports in each of the years 2009 and 2010 was approximately US$230 million, representing almost 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a level comparable to government’s expenditure on education," he added.
The Energy Minister pointed out that Government must in fact lead the way in conserving energy.?? He revealed that Government currently spent $60 million yearly in the public sector alone on energy use, and through energy efficiency efforts and conservation a 5% reduction could lead to $3 million in savings per year, while a 20% reduction could save some $12 million per year.