BL&P predicts spike in solar power

Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd(BL&P) is anticipating an increase in the number of customers who may want to integrate additional solar power on the electricity grid following a recent Fair Trading Commission (FTC) decision on battery storage.

BL& P managing director Roger Blackman has, however, made it clear that it has to be done “reliably and safely”.

As the company voices satisfaction with the FTC’s recent decision on the Review of Energy Storage Framework for battery systems under one megawatt (MW), energy sector executive Stephen Worme is seeking answers from the FTC on how the implementation of its April 1 decision will impact the costs to be incurred by investors and BL& P customers.

Worme said he was also disappointed that the FTC “dismissed my suggestion to allow potential investors with stranded [solar] photovoltaic (PV) systems between one and ten MW, under special circumstances and with approval from BL& P and the Ministry of Energy, to install batteries of an equivalent amount between the competitive procurement processes and at comparable prices to those that could be obtained in the competitive procurement process”.

With the FTC having now set energy storage tariff (EST) rates for battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the 25 kilowatts (kW) to one MW range, Blackman said: “It is anticipated that customers may use this opportunity afforded under the EST as prescribed by the FTC to co-locate BESS with solar PV to unlock the integration of further solar onto the grid, but this has to be done reliably and safely.”

He explained that “apart from setting the rates, we expect the FTC to soon issue an agreement which will facilitate grid connection of energy storage.

“Customers who plan to invest in the Energy Storage Framework should consult with the Barbados Light & Power Co and the Government Electrical & Engineering Department who need to give guidance and set the parameters or requirements for the battery systems so that they can connect safely,” he advised.

The managing director also shared that BL& P has been approved to implement a distributed energy resource management system on a pilot project basis.

“We were progressing well and had selected a vendor from whom to procure the system, but the supplier has since advised that they are no longer doing business in the Caribbean region,” he said.

“We had to go back to the market to find a new vendor to work with and we are diligently working towards selecting a vendor by May 2025. BL& P will firm up this arrangement over the coming weeks.”

Worme, who participated in the FTC consultation on the EST in his personal capacity, congratulated the Commission for its efforts “to find the right

balance between providing the investor with a reasonable return on their investment in batteries while trying to minimise the impact of cost on electricity consumers”.

However, he said he believed “the true test of whether they have achieved this will be determined when persons interested in investing in batteries get their quotations and are able to decide if this investment makes sense for them and when, after these systems are installed and become operational, the true impact on the cost to customers becomes fully known”.

He expected the investor battery procurement aspect to be known “soon enough”, but said the customerrelated cost issue “will likely be further down the road”.

Worme also had some questions following the FTC decision, including how the process for determining when batteries are “used and useful”, as required by the decision, and how the communication around this will be managed.

“Are the same rules for determining whether a system is ‘used and useful’ going to apply for the smaller systems below 100 kW as for the larger systems up to one MW?” he asked.

“How are the licences for these systems going to be issued? Is priority going to be given to persons who have applied for PV systems some time ago and have not either received their licence, or who already have a licence but could not be installed because BL& P could not accommodate more capacity without batteries, as opposed to new investors now applying to only install batteries?”

Worme queried if there will be some requirement for investors to maintain battery efficiency within a certain band and, if not, be subjected to a penalty for the lower level of efficiency, and if it was the FTC’s “determination that the introduction of these systems will have a downward impact on cost accurate”.

“While I don’t have access to the information they used in their assessment, my assessment tells a different story. I will be writing to the FTC to discuss this further but whatever the outcome is, I think we need to be open with the public,” he urged. (SC)

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