The recently formed National Electrotechnical Committee (NEC) will be consulting with representatives from a regional energy labelling project, in an effort to help create a more energy efficient Barbados.??
Chief Technical Officer with the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) and Secretary to the Committee, Fabian Scott, revealed that contact had been made with the Technical Coordinator for the Eastern Caribbean Energy Labelling Project (ECELP), so that Barbados could benefit from the lessons learned in neighbouring nations.
Pointing out that the beneficiary countries of the EU-ACP Energy Facility Funded project, were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mr. Scott observed that Barbados could benefit by examining their models and adopting best practices.
The ECELP works with the National Bureau of Standards and government officials responsible for energy in the respective countries, along with importers and retailers of electrical equipment, to increase knowledge of energy efficiency. It also helps them to develop the necessary standards, policies and legislation to equip their institutions with the capacity to implement these standards.
Acknowledging that increased awareness about energy efficiency could only bode well for Caribbean countries, Mr. Scott stressed that "we don’t expect that consumers will make purchases based solely on how much energy an appliance uses. People are not that singular minded… it will be based on the features, the value, reliability… but at least they will know the energy consumption of the appliance."
Additional information on the ECELP may be obtained by visiting http://www.ecelp.org/.