Minister Lightbourne On IRP Process & More
Minister of Home Affairs Alexa Lightbourne noted she is “aware of the ongoing commentary regarding the Integrated Resource Plan [IRP].”
Today, Minister Lightbourne said, “The Regulatory Authority approved and published the last Integrated Resource Plan in June 2019. On BELCO’s own account, work on the next plan began in late 2022 and was still unresolved in 2026, in a sector where comparable jurisdictions complete a planning cycle in 12 to 24 months. Bermuda waited seven years between approved plans. Families paid for that wait in every bill.
“The Electricity Amendment Act 2026 provides for suspension and reconstitution of the IRP process whether or not any part of that process has been completed. The suspension exists so that the Government’s electricity policy, now nearing completion, is finalised and the plan that follows aligns with it. The plan in operation immediately before a suspension order continues in effect until a successor is approved and published once the suspension ends, and the Authority must give notice of resumption and next steps. Parliament anticipated this circumstance and legislated for it.
“The Government acts in the public interest and will align the energy transition with national policy. Algonquin’s own acquisition fact sheet, published in June 2019, records why that policy must set the direction. At purchase, the owner made its own pledges. It pledged that ‘no changes to management or operations staffing are expected’.
“It pledged a focus on growing renewable energy in Bermuda and projected lower energy costs from that integration. It recorded a workforce of approximately 370. Seven years later, BELCO counts more than 250 Bermudian employees after publicly reported staff reductions. Fossil fuels supplied 91 per cent of Bermuda’s electricity in 2025. Residential customers face a rate restructuring in August. Those employees keep the lights on in every parish and have my full respect. The record now measures the pledges made to them and to customers at acquisition.
“The Act places the reconstituted process with the Regulatory Authority, the body best placed to lead it. That process is anchored in the national policy Bermudians elected this Government to deliver, with affordability protections written into the plan itself. The Ministry will finalise the National Electricity Sector Policy 2026, and the reconstituted process will proceed under it.”
The Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. acquisition fact sheet follows below [PDF here]:
Read More About
Category: All, Business, News, Politics
“Government’s electricity policy, now nearing completion,”
Ahh, so the PLP Government does not have an electricity policy.
The government still has trouble asking ChatGPT the right specific questions for it to write an electricity policy document. Burning up the servers and consuming electricity big time.
Google AI refuses to work with the Government of Bermuda.
How dare you say such a thing. Our Premier is a computer expert. He told us that himself!
Yes, Mr. Big, Mr. IT himself. I informed him by email on December 28, 2021, at 12:15 AM, that the Government email system was hacked by someone from Pakistan. I traced the IP address in the email header info. Crickets and oh, $4+ million in alleged ransom later, plus consultants…..
OH NO! Deflection. Blame BELCO for the suspension of the IRP. Such leadership!
Is the Minister not aware of the gross incompetence of the Government and the RA?
Why does she not push to remove fuel tax on BELCO’s imports to help lower electricity costs?
What is HER plan to save the planet? (yes, I made a funny)
Can she, in her own words, correctly define climate change? (yes, I made another funny)
How does she like her FREE taxpayer-funded electric car? Is she even aware that taxpayers paid for 13 EVs for ministers, plus charging infrastructure, to save the planet?
Algonquin Power made these commitments to Bermuda in 2019, but later sold its entire renewable energy business for $2.5 billion in 2024.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/algonquin-power-sells-renewable-energy-business-25-billion-ls-power/723901/
A classic bait and switch by Algonquin.
And for those wondering why BELCO/Algonquin are so vested in LNG….Algonquin owns a 1,100-mile pipeline system that delivers natural gas to New England and historically integrates supply feeds originating from regional LNG import terminals and have proposed a $340 million undertaking featuring a 27-mile underground pipeline and an LNG storage tank in New Hampshire.
Was Algonquin supposed to keep that “renewable” energy business just to support Bermuda, or does Algonquin have a fiduciary duty to stockholders?
Yes or No.
As I recall, NOTHING was officially put into any legal agreement with the Bermuda Government, correct? No legally binding pledge was made in writing.
Yes or No.
The incompetence of the Bermuda Government and the RA is clear even to a blind man/woman/whatever.
Yes or No.