ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), which last month announced that it had granted licenses to investors in the Small-Scale Independent Power Producers (SSIPP) pilot project, said Tuesday that it is aware of problems being experienced with the second tranche of the project.
Eight investors were granted licenses to commence the generation of renewable energy from their solar facilities, marking a key milestone in advancing Grenada’s energy sector and, by extension, the PUC’s renewable energy mandate.
The PURC launched its pilot SSIPP program in 2021, allowing investments in the renewable energy sector. This program sought to increase the penetration of green energy into Grenada’s national grid, which will be facilitated by Grenada Electricity Services Limited (GRENLEC).
The PURC said investors must submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the second iteration of the SSIPP Programme by October 10 this year. Selected bidders will be notified, and the documented procedures for granting generation licenses will be followed. Once approved and distributed to the relevant licensees, GRENLEC and each licensee will sign Power Purchase Agreements, it said last month.
However, in its statement Tuesday, PURC said it wanted to inform all applicants and potential investors in the second tranche of the SSIPP program of an important update regarding submitting business cases and financial proposals.
The Commission said it knows that some applicants need to work on obtaining the grid upgrade (three-phase) costs from GRENLEC.
“Considering this, we have decided to allow the submission of your business case and financial proposal without including these costs. The Commission will work directly with GRENLEC to determine and incorporate the necessary upgrade costs into the final rate determination.
“We nonetheless ask that you continue your engagement with GRENLEC on the matter, as you will need that information should your application proceed past the pre-approval phase,” PURC added.
It said that the deadline for submitting business cases and financial proposals remains October 10, 2024, and that “failure to meet this deadline will disqualify your application from advancing to the pre-approval phase.”
The PURC said it remains committed to advancing energy independence across the tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique “through the promotion and implementation of sustainable energy solutions such as the SSIPP program.”
PURC chief executive officer Andrew Millet said last month that most of Grenada’s energy is produced from thermal generator plants, and over EC$150 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) is spent annually on fuel for these generators.
“We intend to reduce this significantly by installing more solar plants in the coming years. This is just the beginning with this pilot, the Small-Scale Independent Power Producers program,” he added.
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