Pringle vows to scrap 5kW solar cap, accuses government of blocking citizens from going green
Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle says a United Progressive Party (UPP) government would overhaul the country’s renewable-energy rules by scrapping the current 5-kilowatt cap on household solar systems, removing taxes on green technology, and eliminating what he calls government-imposed “roadblocks” that are preventing residents from lowering their electricity costs.
Speaking during Monday’s Budget Debate, Pringle accused the government of limiting solar access while presenting itself internationally as a leader on climate change. He said the Prime Minister “positioned himself as the Green Champion of the Caribbean” but is presiding over rules that restrict homes and businesses from producing clean power.
Pringle criticized the cap set by the utility ministry, saying the limit prevents residents from meaningfully reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. “The member for St. John’s City East is currently limiting renewable energy deployment to a measly 5 kilowatts of solar system power,” he said. “Five kilowatts can barely run your dog house.”
He questioned why the government would call for global climate financing abroad while restricting solar generation at home. “Why is it that the Prime Minister and his Minister is blocking people from going green? Why is he stopping the homes and businesses from generating their own clean power? Why?”
Pringle said the UPP’s energy plan would reverse these restrictions immediately. “When we form the government, we will scrap that 5 kilowatt power,” he told Parliament. “We will allow citizens and residents to generate as much solar power as they want or need.”
He added that a UPP administration would take a different approach by making renewable energy easier and cheaper to adopt. “We will incentivize renewables,” Pringle said. “We will remove the red tape and roadblocks the Minister has put in place.” He also pledged: “We will remove, Mr. Speaker, all taxes…” on renewable-energy systems.
The Opposition Leader said the government cannot ask the world for climate-justice funding while limiting the ability of Antiguans and Barbudans to invest in clean energy at home. “Before you dance abroad,” he said, the government should “show the people of Antigua and Barbuda that you’re serious about climate change.”
Pringle argued that lifting the cap and incentivizing solar power would reduce electricity bills, expand household energy independence, and align national policy with the climate-resilient rhetoric frequently used by the administration.
The Budget Debate continues this week as government ministers prepare their responses.
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but of course…I say up, you say down… I say white, you say black..
well.. we get the message
I agree to this idea. I am not UPP and I use to prefer ABLP, but this idea by UPP is a much better one for the people than the ideas of ABLP.
It is likely the UPP’s idea could result in less power outage, and a chance for the common man in Antigua to receive some income for the electricity they generate beyond what they need.
Why does anything that involves the population/citizens of Antigua and Barbuda making some money and wanting to achieve success is always blocked by ABLP with PM Gaston Browne as the head of this party?
When the UPP.geys in and see the agreement that hadeed has APUA and Gaston sign to generate electricity, they will realize that they can’t allow anyone to go solar and interrupt the required kilowatts hour demand, whether Apua have poles are wire to carry it out they have to pay, they suppress the electricity daily to work and the bill is still the same from hadeed and also to the customers.
If everyone was tp generate solar power without regulations it would become an unstable power generation system because you would not be able to just start up your system and close it down when you feel like, that would destabilize the generator plant and trip it off line.
APUA got to have their own generator plant added to the system to work on that system of power management.
The inside job of APUA to destroy it’d own power plant to facilitate a contract by the politicians is criminal.
If this was in one a them overseas territories like st croix or st Thomas there would be federal investigation and prison.
Finally common sense! This is long overdue. Antigua should be the solar capital of WI.
So my question is, when you drive APUA into the ground, who will supply electricity when hurricane destroys the solar panels? The limit imposed is reasonable. 5KW or 5000 Watts is the capacity of tranformers that many houses and even apartments use here in Antigua. There needs to be balance and it has to start somewhere. Maybe in the future the residential capacity will be increased further, for now this is a good start.
A National Energy Policy does not exist.
Like many other functions the matter of energy and its generation and supply is based on who is responsible and who benefits.
While Pringle touches on an element and rightfully so; it’s far short of addressing the need for a National Energy Policy.
While the public suffers and complains those who can afford to do so have supplementary supply with “fossil fuel” generators.
Given the Prime Minister has been actively campaigning against global warming and climate change and its effect on Antigua and Barbuda it begs the question of why hasn’t he been addressing the problem with the use of fossils fuels in Antigua and Barbuda.
If contractual agreements are the reasons then it should be made clear to the public.
If the Prime Minister wants to be taken seriously then the practice of reducing the use of fossil fuels has to begin at home.
Someone please explain this to me in simple terms.. if I have solar powering my house, what does this have to with government or APUA? Yes my consumption from APUA would reduce but what else am I missing? How do they restrict or cap the amount of solar you produce?
@skipster, since APUA buys power from hadeed powerplant on a contract which doesn’t expire until the 2030s they don’t want to loose revenue, I don’t know if they running APUA as independent business or if they just don’t want to run it at a loss and subsidise it with the other tax streams they get or treat it as a non profit but it’s most likely due the people that can afford the bring in and set up a solar systems are the middle to upperclass people that pays the most to APUA in bills so it’s to stop that income from being below what they want or need to make.
From ?’s comment I agree it’s hard to make a detailed agreement but APUA did own it’s own power generator like the one on Fries hill road and maybe more I don’t know about, excluding wadadli power plant.
But looking back since I was curious what were the generators before Hadeed, Fries and Wadadli and saw news about Black Pine Powerplant which the current government said they were placing the aged engine for possible green energy in 2019 but obviously it ever happened. I know for a fact the power generator on Fries hill road isn’t in use anymore it’s obvious by looking at it and all the over grown trees all around, so in my opinion this situation could have been avoided by having those or actually making to green alternative like said was planned. Like if you look around by the stadium there wind turbine blades on the green between it and the track but it’s just been sitting there for what ever reason.
So assuming the contract being something like a minimum demand at a flat rate and probably over that rate they pay extra, since the reverse osmosis plants that have been built since the deal must have added the noticeable demand plus the others going offline this situation was self imposed
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