How Come Little Beryl So Neutered Mr. JPS? Do We Need a Blueprint for Power System Reform?

Jamaica's energy sector stands at a crossroads, with Hurricane Beryl exposing vulnerabilities in our power infrastructure. Carlton Fearon's proposal (Daily Gleaner, "Letter of the Day" by Carlton Fearon July 16, 2024) to separate Jamaica Public Service Company's (JPS) power generation from transmission and distribution offers a compelling starting point for reform, echoing the late Prime Minister Edward Seaga's vision for energy sector transformation. Fearon's arguments for restructuring are persuasive: the current monopoly leads to inefficiencies and poor service, while separation would foster competition, potentially attracting investment in clean green energy. This aligns with Seaga's advocacy for energy diversification and reduced oil dependence.

Building on Fearon's ideas, I propose a bolder approach especially post-Hurricane Beryl: reforming Jamaica's electricity supply into an array of hardened, interconnectable mini-grids. This strategy, inspired by successful models globally and Puerto Rico's post-Hurricane Maria (of 2017) plans, offers numerous advantages:

1. Geographical suitability: Jamaica's mountainous island terrain is ideal for a distributed energy system.

2. Renewable energy integration: Mini-grids can easily incorporate wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biomass-derived green Hydrogen resources.

3. Improved reliability: Independent operation of hardened mini-grids can reduce widespread outages during disasters.

4. Economic benefits: Mini-grids can boost local economies, especially in rural areas.

5. Cost-effectiveness: Solar mini-grid costs have decreased significantly and are projected to fall further.

6. Social impacts: Reliable electricity access can improve health, education, agricultural, and small business outcomes.

7. Climate resilience: Leveraging renewables helps Jamaica meet its climate goals.

I propose dividing Jamaica into 10-12 interconnectable mini-grid zones, prioritizing renewable energy sources and implementing smart grid technologies. This approach would encourage private sector investment, foster innovation, and require a comprehensive regulatory framework to ensure fair pricing and service quality.

Key steps include:

• Developing a phased implementation plan, starting with pilot projects in vulnerable areas

• Investing in workforce development for renewable energy and smart grid technologies

• Launching public education campaigns on energy conservation and system benefits

This transformative approach combines the visions of intellectuals like Seaga and Fearon with the latest technological advancements. It offers a path to a more sustainable, reliable, and prosperous energy future for all Jamaicans. As team leader of Verde Siempre/Enerplan Group, which won a Rockefeller Foundation Award for green renewables work using patented anaerobic fermentation processes and equipment to convert Leucaena leucocephala, also called Ipil Ipil, to produce Fuels, Feed, Fertilizer and Food for humans (Leucaena 4F industrial scale Pilot);  I've witnessed the success of similar Rockefeller Foundation  Initiatives [e.g. SPDR (Smart Power for Development and Rural Electrification) in India]  globally.

Our work garnered discrete support from notable figures like Michael Manley, Edward Seaga, Oscar Arias, Fidel Castro, Horace Clarke, Peter Phillips, Robert Lightbourne, Alfred Sangster, Paul Aldred Jennings, AC McDonald, TP Leckey, Neville Gallimore, EK Powell, Howard Mitchel, Gloria Knight, Al Binger, CARICOM, General Motors, NCB  Derrick Dyer, Franklin Macdonald, Noel DaCosta, Robert Levy, John Golding, Albert Karam, and Roderick Rainford; as well as CARICOM, The OAS, UNIDO, The CFC, ATL Group, NCB Group, JamPro, Agro-21, JPS (in the 1990s), Eastern Caribbean Flour Mills. and, most significantly, Newport Mills and The Bodles facility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Jamaica and its counterparts in Guyana via 3000+ hectares of land in the Rupununi, Trinidad and Tobago via the SFC, Grenada, Suriname, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba via 2000 hectares of land in Santiago de Cuba, Haiti via Operation Double Harvest, and Monterey Farms Corporation (Isabella)....now Monterey Foods Corporation..... and Philippine Electric of the Philippines.

Here's the thing: The time for incremental change has passed. Jamaica needs a bold, transformative approach to its energy sector. This mini-grid strategy represents such an approach, offering a blueprint for a resilient, sustainable energy future.

This column is dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Cynthia E. Lewis, Enerplan's and Verde Siempre's G.O.A.T.

Dennis A. Minott, PhD, MISES

Chairman of Enerplan/Verde Siempre Group