The Renewable Energy Industry in CARIFORUM Countries

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RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT

SAINT LUCIA

3.12.2 | UTILITIES REGULATOR

UTILITIES REGULATOR

The regulator for the energy sector in Saint Lucia is the National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC) which was established in January 2016. It currently fulfils much of its statutory obligations through Regulations and policy directives based on the amended Electricity Supply Act which now allows the regulator to address RE generation and other IPP issues. The NURC is intended to ensure economic regulation of Saint Lucia’s energy and water sectors, setting tariffs, ensuring compliance, and protecting consumers. It is expected to address the feed-in tariffs structures for RE systems, how connections are made and the license requirement for potential distributed supplies. There are 6 staff to oversee the functions of the NURC. Their relationship with the other key stakeholders is depicted in the Figure 3.61 below, right. The nature of the NURC’s role does not currently require it to focus on the financing of projects which implement energy generation systems. When coupled with a national strategy which is focused on international donors and funders, the resulting relationship with the local financial institutions is weak. All other relationships suggest that the regulator plays a supporting role.

PRIVATE SECTOR INSTITUTIONS

REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS

LEAD GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES

FUNDING AGENCIES

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANIES

Figure 3.60 | Relationships of St. Lucia’s Lead Government Ministries