Public consultation for Integrated Resource Plan

A public consultation will be held to discuss the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for St Vincent and the Grenadines tomorrow, Wednesday. An IRP is a utility plan for meeting present and future electricity demands in the most efficient and economical manner.

The Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines and the St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) have collaborated with the Rocky Mountain Institute – Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to implement an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) project.

An agreement to implement the project was signed in October 2016 by Thornley Myers (CEO, VINLEC), Justin Locke (director of Island Energy Program, RMI-CWR), and Elsworth Dacon (director of the Energy Unit).

The public consultation will provide an opportunity for information exchange between key public stakeholders and the project team. Representatives from VINLEC and the Energy Unit will present an overview of the project, as it relates to this country and provide a briefing on the IRP process that is underway. Participants at the consultation will also hear from representatives from the international agencies.

The IRP process has three specific phases, namely the fact base and process alignment, assessment of current energy system and development of future energy scenarios and strategy development, implementation and business plan. Among the activities to be carried out in St Vincent and the Grenadines are data collection, data analysis, forecasting for electricity demand, examination of resources, cost/benefit analysis and selection of an optimal model, among others.

The consultation will take place on Wednesday, February 8, at the Frenches House. It will begin at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the event.