A new regional non-governmental organization – the Caribbean Energy Chamber – was launched in Georgetown on Monday at the sidelines of the 2024 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.
The St Lucia-based Chamber is new, just three weeks old, and is now in the process of setting up its 23-member founding board.
According to the Founding Chair of CEC, Melanie Chen, with 10 members already enlisted for the founding Board, she is in the process of finding Guyanese to represent the country and its peculiar needs on the Board.
She said too that CEC is being established for greater global recognition of the energy challenges faced by the Caribbean and to prioritize affordable net zero energy security for the region.
The new pan-Caribbean chamber non-partisan and independent organization governed by a 23-member founding Board for the first three years, with CEC members electing a new Board on an annual basis thereafter. CEC membership will comprise companies and individuals from the Caribbean and around the globe.
“CEC will serve as a hub for uniting all energy stakeholders in the Caribbean, including those from both public and private sectors (demand and supply sides). We will be hosting workshops, round tables, and breakout sessions at conferences aimed at enabling actions to help the implementation of energy transition and security in the Caribbean,” Chen said.
She thanked the government of St. Lucia for facilitating the Chamber and the Government of Guyana for allowing the launch in Georgetown and said that while the body will operate largely at the regional level, specific projects will come on board at a later date for Guyana.
As part of its initial efforts, CEC will focus on key areas including energy efficiency and public awareness; technical capacity rollout – which includes an engineering pilot programme with Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago; grid modernisation and promoting distributed generation; assisting in developing bankable projects and looking at a bundling approach on a national/ regional level versus project level.
“We share this vision with the region’s leadership and that will be reflected in the pragmatic approach of CEC. This approach is important as the Caribbean is faced with major issues such as climate change and conflict which directly or indirectly affect the region,” Chen added.
She said CEC will onboard members from across the Caribbean, from all the various sectors and is encouraging wide application for membership since a significant part of the value of CEC is derived from the membership having a voice in defining what priorities should be addressed at a pan-Caribbean level by CEC.
