petroleumworld

TRINIDAD and Tobago is now entering a new phase of industrialisation. In order to meet this new thrust, The TT Electricity Commission (TTEC) is positioning itself and powering up to ensure that the country has sufficient electricity to meet the growing needs of residential and commercial customers alike.

Commission chairman, Professor Clement Imbert, underscored this point during a news conference at TTEC’s Mount Hope offices last Friday to announce the appointment of the commission’s interim general manager, Indarjit Singh.

Singh joined TTEC in 1982 as a senior engineer from Ontario Hydro. In 1998, he was appointed assistant general manager in charge of engineering.

In 2005, he was appointed general manager and retired from that post in 2008. “He is a very experienced engineer particularly in the areas that we are concerned with at TTEC at this moment,” Imbert said.

“TTEC is going through an extremely intence programme of strategic planning and implementation. Have to plan generation. We are going through the next two years of a very strategic period of planning and implementation and generation,” the chairman explained.

One of the immediate challenges which TTEC will face is the coming on stream of the Trinidad Generation Unlimited’s (TGU) 760 megawatt power station in La Brea. Indicating that this was more than half of the electricity which TTEC now uses, Imbert said: “There are very sensitive negotiations that have to take place with respect to the power purchase agreement. With respect to the entire project. Mr Singh was hired as a consultant because of his experience to assist us in that particular area.”

Another top priority for TTEC is the construction of a new electrical power plant for Port-of- Spain. Proposals have been on the drawing board for the relocation of the existing plant from Wrightson Road to Sea Lots. “The (existing ) plant is very old. We need to do this (build a new power plant) as soon as possible,” Imbert said. While TTEC’s plant has a total production capacity of 300 mega watts of electricity but Imbert said the plant’s current capacity is around 100 mega watts.

In addition, Imbert noted: “The issue of locating a plant in the middle of a city is no longer a trend.” Asked by reporters how much the new plant will cost, Imbert replied: “It’s going to be in the billions.” Pointing out that the generation of electrical power was divested from TTEC in 1994 and this task is now performed by Powergen, Imbert said TTEC’s only responsibility in this regard is “planning of power generation.” He added that Powergen would work out logistics such as the amount of manpower required to operate the new plant.

Stating that TTEC made a profit of approximately $150 million last year, Imbert said: “We are not sure what is going to happen this year.” Despite the fact there were two recent increases in electricity rates, Imbert said : “ The cost of electricity to the consumer in TT is the lowest in the Caribbean.

One of the lowest in the world.” He said despite the fact that the commission receives subsidised natural gas, “ TTEC operates under very stringent financial and other constraints.”

Disclosing that TTEC is currently looking at various cost-cutting exercises, Imbert again made reference to the TGU plant. “These power purchase agreements are take or pay if we have more power than we need, we still have to pay for it. That could cause us some serious financial setbacks,” Imbert said.

Asked if there might be any further increases in electricity rates, Imbert replied: “I hope that the public doesn’t kill me with letters but I hope so.” Explaining that increasing electricity rates was nothing unusual, Imbert said: “ Our increases are below the inflation that has taken place over the last couple years. Less than ten percent.”

On the new digital electrical meters, Imbert said: “The new meters have been working very well”

He said these devices were working better than their analogue counterparts and soon all of TTEC’s over 400,000 customers will have them.

While Imbert outlined some of TTEC’s plans, members of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) staged a protest outside the compound. OWTU vice-president Peter Burke said the union was opposed to Singh’s appointment as interim general manager because there were other qualified persons in the company’s senior management to fill the post.