Lt Col Trevor Browne SCM
One of the quiet success stories in Barbados has been the growth of the Co-operative sector, and particularly the financial cooperative sector, led by the Credit Unions. From modest beginnings with passbooks and weekly business sessions in the early 1990’s, this Movement has grown to a multi-billion dollar collection of operations, that now control assets approaching $3 Billion and total membership representing some 75% of all adult citizens.
Obviously there has been significant pressure placed on the Movement to move some of its assets into productive enterprises. Unfortunately, several legislative restrictions which have traditionally prevented overt investments by Credit Unions directly into such ventures, remain in place long after concerns about the adequacy of management skills at the time, would have led to such restrictions in the interest of protecting members deposits.
Credit Unions for example, are not allowed to invest in productive businesses, and even investments in other cooperatives are highly regulated and restrictive in 2022.
In the early 1990’s, Credit Unions created their own general insurance company, Co-operators General Insurance Co Ltd. The outstanding performance of this company in the general insurance field over the past 30 years, is testimony to the great potential that exists for other similar co-operative enterprises.
Energy Initiative
In 2019, the Government of Barbados adopted the Barbados National Energy Policy 2019-2030 (BNEP). This policy outlines a brilliant vision of energy transformation for Barbados, and includes a full move from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources such as wind, solar, bio fuels etc. It also mandates the deliberate inclusion of local participation at all levels of the new energy framework
The Cooperative Movement was invited to participate in a number of stakeholder consultations on the BNEP and have since fully endorsed the Government’s energy policy. The Movement has subsequently come together to create a special national energy co-operative, specifically to focus the Movement’s interest in the new energy structure for Barbados.
As a result, the Barbados Sustainable Energy Co-operative Society Limited (also registered as ‘CoopEnergy Barbados’) was registered on 6 June 2020.
The objectives of CoopEnergy are to:
- Support the successful rollout of the BNEP
- Invest in the new sustainable energy business on behalf of all citizens
- Facilitate cooperatives involvement in the new energy structure
- Promote local ownership in energy; particularly co-operative ownership
Membership in the new society is open to any person who is a citizen or resident of Barbados and who possess a valid passport or Identity (ID) Card. This includes Barbadians in the Diaspora. Membership is also open to other local institutions who qualify, and all Co-operative Societies in Barbados are eligible for full membership.
Since its inception, CoopEnergy has been familiarizing itself with the complex intricacies of the local energy market. We have been fortunate to have had persons with extensive experience in co-operatives, engineering, accounting and legal affairs on the Board of Directors, and on other Committees. These resources have accelerated our learning curve significantly.
CoopEnergy is committed to the successful outcome of government’s energy policy. Such an outcome presents the very best opportunity for sustainable, long-term investment benefits for co-operatives and for citizens, and of course, it offers safe, reliable, and affordable electricity service to citizens.
To this end, we have established relationships with the Ministry of Energy, The Fair Trading Commission (FSC), and many of the various local and international players in the market. The objective of the energy co-op is to fill that role of representing the local interest of citizens in all major energy undertakings under the BNEP initiative.
Therefore, CoopEnergy is actively pursuing investments in major renewable energy projects with major players in the market; we are partnering with local electric / hybrid vehicle importers, and we are also actively interested in opportunities to invest in key utility infrastructure up to and including with BL&P.
In October 2021, The Barbados Light & Power submitted an application to the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) for an increase in customer rates for electricity services. The last previous increase was granted in 2010.
Several members requested that the energy co-op assume a role as Intervenor in the process, as part of our mandate to represent citizens in the new energy transformation. CoopEnergy’s application for Intervenor status was accepted in December 2021.
Our subsequent review of the information provided by BL&P in their application has reinforced our commitment to become more involved in this sector for two key reasons:
- To benefit from the very attractive investment returns available
- To bring much needed balance, and to ensure that the interests of ordinary citizens are given due consideration, when decisions about energy are being taken at the highest levels
Energy is set to become an issue of major global concern as fuel prices seem about to skyrocket across the world following the Ukraine war in Europe. Also, there is the challenge of finding foreign exchange to facilitate ongoing operations. The local situation is no less complex.
In addition to:
- The radical change planned in Government’s BNEP 2019-2030 (national energy policy)
- The expectation of rising costs to customers
- The matter of licenses for energy providers
Local customers can expect to see challenging times ahead. This is even more reason why the Co-operative Movement must therefore position itself to provide maximum support to our members in this increasingly chaotic energy market.
Through CoopEnergy, the Barbados Co-op Movement is well on the way to meeting this requirement. All Co-op members should see the need to support this cooperative energy initiative.