Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Hon. Dr. James Fletcher, said government first determined to reform energy legislation before transitioning from conventional to renewable energy.

The legislative reforms were necessary to prevent a similar outcome after  witnessing failed examples of energy transition initiatives within the Caribbean region.

"We had seen examples of efforts in the Caribbean where  people had embarked on energy reform initiatives and then stumbled, fallen short or come up against brick walls because they had not anticipated certain problems," Dr. Fletcher said. "So, one of the first issues we realized we had to tackle was the legislative and regulatory environment."

As a result, the National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC) was established.

"We decided very early on in Saint Lucia that we needed to set up our own regulatory apparatus," he continued. "We moved through the ECERA project to set up the NURC, the National Utilities Regulatory Commission, which is a multi-sector regulator to handle both the water and energy sectors. We disbanded the National Water and Sewerage Commission (NWSC) and merged its role with NURC. Last year, the NURC act was passed through parliament."

Dr. Fletcher said the commission hopes to bring to parliament the entire suite of reformed legislation by September.

The new regulations will allow Saint Lucia to have the modern energy infrastructure required to proceed with its energy transition.