While uncertainty currently rules the day, there are still people out there with vision and the fundamental belief that our tourism industry will not only recover, but flourish in times to come.
For most of us, despite having traded though all the previous challenges including 911, SARS and others, the Covid-19 pandemic has been what can only be described as an earth-shattering wake-up call, severely questioning how we do business in the months or years to come.
Our own position is a classic case in point, having recently sold our small hotel, which hopefully sends a tiny beacon of hope that some return to normality may be in sight. To pretend this prolonged sales process was easy would be grossly misleading. It has taken an extraordinary amount of patience, compromise and understanding on both sides.
Are there lessons to be learnt from our personal experience, that may help others in a similar situation or those considering investment in our tourism sector generally, whether at a micro or macro level?
I believe YES, in a number of ways.
The first stumbling blocks are clearly the banks. Most of us can fully understand their reticence to provide loans and the circumstances that has led to this current entrenched position. It is abundantly obvious the need to ‘shop-around’, as the levels of caution vary enormously, depending on either the policies of the individual bank or key decision making personalities involved.
As an aspiring entrepreneur spanning over five decades, if I had accumulated $10 for every financial official who told me that the banks are not in the risk business, probably retirement could have been achieved sometime ago.
People of my generation saw the changes coming a long time ago. For me, it was when one of Britain’s largest banks, Barclays, took the decision to retire all their branch managers aged over 50 years. It seemed to defy any obvious logic.
At 50, or close to that age, the individual manager has acquired an invaluable local knowledge of the area his or her branch was located, the business movers and shakers, their track record and probable ability to repay any loans.
It was an early sign that things were never going to be the same again in the financial world and that what we had accepted as true ‘customer service’ had been lost, perhaps forever.
Next is our local legal fraternity. Competition, driven by efficiency, attention to detail, the ability to act in a timely manner and accountability has not yet universally arrived on Barbados, with perhaps a few notable exceptions.
And thirdly, but perhaps the single biggest obstacle to even the most ardent investor are the multitude of Government departments that you are forced to deal with. Persistent unanswered voice and emails and in the unlikely event that you can finally establish any form of human interaction, repeated run-arounds and lack of co-operation to achieve simple goals, except in the rarest cases.
Conversely, in our personal experience we encountered one or two outstandingly helpful individuals, but sadly not in any position of authority.
While there have been some bureaucratic improvements during the last four years, a great deal more could and has to be done to make Barbados a more investment friendly country, especially when the nation’s economic recovery depends on it.
In our technological world, every tool exists to make this possible, but it is frightening that ‘we’ seem to be incapable of implementing the fiscal environment that other countries take for granted and benefit from accordingly.
Congrats on the sale of P&Q. Kind of feel it was for sale for 6+ years.
@Adrian,
You seem to be getting close to an acknowledgement that this crisis has changed our economy forever when you say that “the Covid-19 pandemic has been what can only be described as an earth-shattering wake-up call, severely questioning how we do business in the months or years to come.”
And yet you begin your article this week by squinting awkwardly through rose coloured glasses with a delusional panegyric to a “vision and the fundamental belief that our tourism industry will not only recover, but flourish in times to come.”
Did the dinosaurs “not only recover, but flourish in times to come” after their “earth-shattering wake-up call?” NO!… but they evolved to become birds. The tourism industry of the future will no more resemble that of pre COVID times than a chicken resembles a tyrannosaurus rex.
Your list of stumbling blocks is not wrong, but it is glaringly incomplete. Along with the Bankers, the Bureaucrats, and the Lawyers, you need most definitely to add the Businesspeople. I hesitate to call Businesspeople in Barbados entrepreneurs, because the vast majority of us create no value at all, but just misappropriate it from less fortunate members of society by underpaying wages, overcharging customers, and cheating the public purse.
It is long past time to Businesspeople in Barbados to take a good long hard look in the mirror rather than their incessant whining about Bankers, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers.
@Artax
LIAT pilots not based in Antigua seeing red according to reports? The NUPW is begging the Barbados government to pay pilots severance as a former large shareholder. Looks like Browne has been smart (callous) in cutting of non Antigua based pilots to kill off the influence NUPW could have had on the new LIAT transaction.
I refuse to believe our world class president has been outmanoeuvred by a little Antiguan politician.
Ha! My best friend and I have that discussion frequently. Underpaying wages, overcharging customers and cheating the public purse. INDEED!
We both cannot imagine why we cannot have business people who treat employees fairly, give value for money and contribute to the upliftment AND maintainance of the society in which they operate.
We both believe that these practises would lead to greater profits.
If the government gave its 49 per cent share in LIAT to the Antiguan government, along with that went all liabilities, including redundancies and pensions. Who negotiated that deal?
@Adrian Good for you. Your timing couldn’t have been so apt.
@PLT . Tell me about it. Bureacracy in the private sector is just as entrenched as the public sector.
Banking is a risky business by nature, therefore, managing risk is a fundamental operation of any bank. If not, they should lock up shop . And banks cannot be viable in the long-run just living off government securities.
As an aspiring entrepreneur spanning over five decades, if I had accumulated $10 for every financial official who told me that the banks are not in the risk business
The run-of-the mill retail banks often struggle to evaluate the risks in businesses, especially small and medium sized ones and they tend to avoid extending credit to them. This happens everywhere.
We need to develop alternative to the backward retail banks. Governments of both sides have failed the people. They have no ideas. Where are our financial engineers.
@ PLT,
Relax. Covid-19 is both a tragedy and at the same time may prove to be a blessing to Barbadians.
Covid-19, has highlighted that our government under the stewardship of Mia is nothing but an empty vessel. Bereft of imagination; tangible ideas; and robust policies. The same can be said of those private companies and individuals who benefit from the largesse of this obese government.
Barbados, unlike the vast majority of countries has avoided the covid-19 bullet. Yet, it is incapable of benefiting from this comparative advantage.
The tourist industry is dead . However, Mia and her cronies are intent in ploughing money into the hands of a limited number of individuals.
Congratulations covid-19. You have highlighted that our leaders and our private companies are incompetent and in cahoots with each other. More to the point , covid-19 has rendered these characters as mere redundant actors with no role to play in the future development of Barbados.
I would urge this mottley crew to pack their bags and quit the island before the Barbados populace takes note that they are mere pretenders. Sorry I meant to say imposters.
I see that Vienna has been hit by a wave of terrorist attacks. It is been reported that a minimum of seven people have been killed with a number of people injured.
Are we in Barbados cognisant that we have a growing Muslim population within our region?
@TLSN November 2, 2020 6:02 PM
“Are we in Barbados cognisant that we have a growing Muslim population within our region?”
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The vast majority of terrorist attacks in our hemisphere are carried out by White supremacists.
“In the latest updated COVID-19 travel protocols, which go into effect on Tuesday, the new countries which were moved into high risk are Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Martinique, Norway, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.
These join 36 others in this category, including Barbados’ major tourism markets – the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, as well as the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.”
https://www.nationnews.com/2020/11/02/countries-added-covid-high-risk-group/
@Hal Austin November 2, 2020 12:41 PM “a little Antiguan politician.”
Are you making anassumption that little countries produce little politicians cursed with little brains?
What if he is just as bright, just as able, just as competent as any first world politician?
You got it sold good for you, the last time time I saw you, you were painting the sign, I will be home soon,, I will check it out on my way to the sea.
All over the world it is government agencies, cooperatives, credit unions or mutual socities that take the most risk and invest in risky things like home mortgage, education( student loan), farming and small businesses. Commercial banks are more about lending money for personal consumption and to big corporate businesses. They have several other avenues to make money : from high fees and commission; treasury mgmt; wealth mgmt to corporate and government bonds.
@ David BU
In 2015, LIAT pilot Neil Cave filed a class action suit against LIAT (1974) Ltd., in the Antigua & Barbuda High Court on behalf of 9 other pilots, questioning the airline’s management’s decision to deposit EC$5M in CLICO as pension for pilots.
It is very interesting to note, according to Cave, the Court ruled that the case, which was supposed to start on August 12, 2020, “could no longer go forward,” based on the defendant’s, (LIAT (1974) Ltd.), argument the new “Antigua & Barbuda Companies Amendment Act 2020, prevents absolutely any form of legal action however arising being taken against LIAT.” In other words, the ruling meant no legal process of any sort can be taken against LIAT, by any entity or existing creditor.
I don’t know if you remember, but, in July this year, LIALPA president, Patterson Thompson, suggested the possibility of taking legal action to force LIAT into meeting its obligation to pay severance payment to pilots. Unfortunately, based on the August 12 Court ruling, it seems as though LIALPA cannot file any legal process against the airline as well.
So, what are the other options do the pilots, and by extension, the other former LIAT employees have to be paid their severance?
I believe the Barbados government should pay LIAT’s Barbadian employees who were made redundant as a result of the restructuring.
Rather than fully embracing the opportunity to sell Barbados’ shares in LIAT for a few millions dollars, Mia Mottley ‘in her brilliance,’ stuck out US$44M, which was rejected by Gaston Browne. Now we’re faced with a situation where she was forced to sell the shares for E$1 and write off the airline’s debt to Barbadian taxpayers instead. So, Barbados essentially came away without anything in the process.
Couldn’t Drs. Mascoll, Greenidge, Persaud……. or even White Oaks, advised her to think differently? Or, was it a case she did not accept advice, which is characteristic of autocratic leadership style?
David, do you believe LIAT 2020 Ltd.’s ceremonial flight to Dominica yesterday, was a coincidence, especially if one considers Dominica is the new airline’s other shareholder? The airline is currently completing all the training and regulatory requirements for the territories it will be flying to……. and is expected to announce, later this week, its LIMITED SCHEDULE as well as the DESTINATIONS it intends to service. If BGI and SVG decide to retaliate, similarly to how some Caribbean territories reacted to RedJet, Browne would most likely run to CARICOM to gain sympathy, by crying about hindering the progress of Caribbean unity.
I’ve repeatedly mentioned Gaston Browne’s plans on BU, which were as ‘clear as sunny day, from day one.’ So far, he has fulfilled two of his major election promises. To build a UWI campus in Antigua, so Antiguans wouldn’t have to travel to UWI Cave Hill and LIAT to be owned by Antigua. He is yet to force the USA government to relocate its embassy to Antigua so Antiguans wouldn’t have travel to Barbados to apply for US visas.
@TLSN
Ignore @PLT. If you said that Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist he would say he was never convicted. Of course, you are right. Check out Operation Trojan Horse.
Put simply, there is nothing called a moderate Muslim. They are all fully committed to reversing the Crusades, that is the measure of being a good Muslim, as it would be with any other religious group.
Is the UWI campus for Antigua going to be a full fledge campus or just a small satellite campus? Who is going to pay for its operation? If the bigger campuses are struggling financially, how will Antigua with its small population base, make this work. Even if you add the OECS students cohort population, it’s still going to be a financial challenge to pull off.
With UWI three campuses offering to some degree most of the same courses, inter-territorial travel between students from these Islands will be very low to nil in the near future. It would seemed that jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados have indirectly nationalise their respective campus.
@fortyacres
The decision to establish a university in Antigua could have been based on politics. That is appeasing the sub group.
(Quote):
He is yet to force the USA government to relocate its embassy to Antigua so Antiguans wouldn’t have travel to Barbados to apply for US visas. (Unquote).
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And that’s a strong possibility when Barbados goes the republic route and its geopolitical influence wanes in the Eastern Caribbean as it struggles to keep its economy afloat and to control the resulting crime and social dislocation.
The expanding impact of Information Technology would make the need to travel to collect visas a thing of the past; thanks a lot to Covid-19.
@David. This is a classical case where economics should over-ride political persuasion. Is the other three campuses going to subsidies the antiguan operation? What about the financial effect of that pivot on cave hill?
I don’t believe the USA would move its embassy to Antigua. That wouldn’t make sense.
@Hal Austin November 3, 2020 10:26 AM
Of course Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist. The people who carried out the recent Vienna attacks are also terrorists.
I was simply pointing out that in the western hemisphere, terrorist attacks by White supremacists are a bigger threat that those carried out in the name of Islam. Who says so? The FBI, who point out that from 2009 through 2018, White supremacists have been responsible for 73% of US domestic extremist-related fatalities. Being the FBI they are undercounting the White supremacist atrocities of course.
@PLT
The US is not the western world. I know sometimes it feels like it.
@ Hal Austin November 3, 2020 6:32 PM
I said terrorist attacks “in our hemisphere” meaning the ‘new world’ on this side of the Atlantic.
@PLT
Which geographical regions do most terrorist attacks take place – I am defining terrorism conventionally?
” Owner of both operations, local construction magnate Mark Maloney.”
https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/11/04/new-fbo-opens/
Putting money at the disposal of businesses especially hotels and the tourism sector was a big mistake unless done as low interest loans backed by some sort of collateral to prevent misappropriation. Unemployment should have been extended from 6 to 12 months with government support.
That would have kept things going until the pandemic is over.
@ Critical
It should have been offered as equity for debt, aft er a thorough audit of the books over the last three years. But, going forward, the conventional hotel model is out of date.
@Critical Analyzer November 6, 2020 6:27 AM “That would have kept things going until the pandemic is over.”
So can you please tell us when the pandemic will be over. You don’t have to give the week/hour/minute/second. Just the year and month is fine. Thanks.
Of course our boy John has been telling us for months that the pandemic is over. So who is right? John? Or you?
100,000 Americans tested positive for Covid19 yesterday. And hundreds of thousands more worldwide.
Extracted from the Throne Speech..
âThe funds will primarily be distributed through investment in the companies by way of a class of shares that mirrors preference shares. There will be some limited opportunity for grants. This method of support will help to strengthen the weakened balance sheets of these firms. This Green and Digital Innovation Fund and training will also be available to small businesses and to manufacturing and agricultural enterprises, provided that they too have retained a significant portion of their jobs. The sums available for investment and grant will be capped to ensure that as many entities benefit as possible.â
@Cuhdear Bajan November 6, 2020 6:38 AM
The world governments will stop the lockdowns after the first week in December and certainly no lockdowns by Christmas. The cure can’t be worse than the disease and Christmas is the biggest commercial economic activity and goodwill driver of the year. Do you know how many businesses will fail and misery people will suffer if there is no Christmas economic activity after a totally lackluster year.
The cases have increased but there is no commensurate increase in serious cases and deaths because the doctors are vastly better at treating it now than back in April when they were making colossal mistakes like waiting to treat, putting covid positive patients and workers in nursing home and rushing to put people on ventilators that ended up killing thousands.
Don’t run wholesale with the statistics. Case numbers don’t tell the whole story and are strictly based on testing which has vastly increased since April. 80% of cases or more are mild cold-like symptoms or asymptomatic and most susceptible people already died. When the increase in serious cases and deaths doesn’t follow the large increase in new cases, this pandemic is over.
@David November 6, 2020 7:19 AM
That is money magic trick speak for taxpayers will give the business owners some money you can divert to themselves, declare bankruptcy of your current business venture and restart something similar under a new name in about a year or two. These decisions happen when you put doctors and lawyers in charge of business. Money for them grows on trees cause they can bill and charge to suit their needs without consequences like most other business that must constantly fight balance expenses against revenue to survive.
@Hal Austin November 6, 2020 6:35 AM
I personally would not care about the books before the loan but they must follow quarterly accounting reporting principles going forward and agree to random surprise audits at short notice until the money is paid back in full.
The future is the personalised airbnb model with the hotels focusing on the wealthy, the business traveller and tourists that really desire that concierge treatment. But the hotels will rail as long as they can against that model since they currently have the money clout and so much invested in that conventional hotel model.
Anybody building a house of more than 2 bedrooms should be looking to build the 3+ bedrooms as a separate studio type addition they can offer for rent to tourists who are yearning for local culture at a reasonable rate.
@ Critical
Quarterly reporting is simply meant for the stock markets; they are often not audited and reflect what the CEO wants them to. Annual reports for listed companies are audited by law and so we have better figures. Even then they are often cooked.
As to the hotel model, airbnb is simply the latest trend.
Unfortunately after reading the column by Mr Loveridge, I am again insulted by the expressions which form the mindset of these people. It seems to clearly(well at least to me) point to the absolute “dumpsiness” and uselessness, of this group. Hoteliers from Time and Memorial were begging for concessions and favors. They wanted the world at Duty Free concessions, claiming that their role in the country’s biggest employment sector (weather by design or default) was so critical that their request to be Illustrious Parasites on the rest of us was warranted.
They paid local employees next to nothing for the most part while importing high-priced trash into this island to live high on the hog.
Some even become so callous that they started to advertise for the most common jobs claiming that they could not find suitable candidates here. Pathetic!
Now that Covid has closed many doors, they have shown that they aren’t resilient. Truthfully, whether we like it or not, our tourism product was very fragile for years. It is the reason that we quickly sought out and prosecuted, sometimes persecuted those who committed heinous crimes against visitors. But we had no Plan-B for a major attack on tourism whether planned or unintended. Greed-mongers, a.k.a Hoteliers, were holding Barbados and its successive governments ransom all along but never thought or sought to seek to ask ” What would happen if people couldn’t come here anymore? Where would that lead us economically?”
Sandals, yes, Sandals came here and apparently have been identified as a big part of the reason that the South Coast Sewerage issue became publicly, sorry, Internationally apparent. Yet, now that we have a tax associated with this shit( no pun intended here) which aims at correcting the problems associated with this Human waste disposal matter, Sandals still has not been asked to pay a red cent( as far as I am aware). Worse yet, over 80% of Barbados is graced with “suck Wells” as we like to refer to them as, and they are paying this tax. And that is deemed to be fair!
Look, Tourism is just about dead. Let it DIE!
I do not want a dollar of my tax dollars, especially those that are unfairly levied against, me to go to support parasites.Tired of you and your complaints.You had a long run. Your time is up
This economy needs to transition to a Information based, services economy. Those who wish to visit Barbados are always welcome to do so, but our focus now needs to be on attracting those “visitors” who are able to assists and guide us towards Digital Transformation and economic resilience, not transcendental meditation and wallowing in the past!
Keep coming to this column, complaining and fussing about something that is clearly useless to the majority of us now. Something that is dear to you, that you have used to help rape and pillage the country for at east two decades and cant seem to accept that it is now at an end.
Keep expecting us to line your pockets under the guise that you are valuable to Barbados or Barbadians.
This is your space, it is your voice, it is your soapbox, but we, aren’t interested in it or you anymore!
Now go away and let positive change reign!
To suggest that tourism is fragile and not resilience is to say what in a covid period?
IS to say that: You either didn’t read in its entirety the submission or don’t understand what was said therein.
Is to say that: Whether it was Covid, Terrorism or just plain stupidity, there was clearly no Plan-B for dealing with an incident that could have impacted tourism negatively.
Is to say that: Covid is just the newest scapegoat that the Tourism sector has used to quantify their under-performance and continued failures while continuing to attempt to justify why we need to pump money into this bottomless pit.
Is to say that: We are now tired of the lies, and coverups and want this gone, and now!
yes. there is the passion emerging in the writing but you know what, its just the lies and wastage that we are being asked to continue to prop up financially with certain people benefiting while the rest of us can just go suck salt.
Well no more! Its dead. Let the parasites nursing the corpse of this dead animal catch a case of Septicemia and perish too!
What Plan B can a tourism dependent economy have in a global economy gripped by a pandemic? The bigger issue is how should we structure the domestic economy to mitigate exogenous events.
So I thought long and hard of the response to your question.
The reason that I did is that there is something that bothers me as to whether we are that “mind-locked” or truly unaware of what options and opportunities lie our way.
When The Hon. David Thompson first took the reigns of government, in his first budget speech, he removed all duties and taxes from Alternative Energy Generating Sources.I suspect that he had a vision back then.
Those duties included duties on Wind, Solar, Wave and Geothermal energy generating sources. However, in Barbados today, we seem to focus exclusively on Solar, but that is fine.
So here is my thought.
While Tourism is faltering, we had the opportunity to invest heavily in Solar and Wind energy projects.
Not because we ( the country here) expects to be paid by BL&P for the energy that we generate and put onto the national grid, but because for every kW of energy we produce using these alternate sources, we save $10, or $15 or $20 on the cost of purchasing fuel oil and gasoline from the word market.
So it means that while our Energy import bill s $200 Million in 2015 for example, it drops to 50 Million in 2019 because of what we are producing. So we save. Those savings get re-invested into another A.E project, or into R&D in some emerging technology. This will means however that the ” Dumpsies” who have their dirty paws all over this economy now, will be relieved of their grip if only because they cant control the “New Economy”. They can just participate in it.
How does that translate you may ask?
Well, we can now compete with bigger countries in the manufacturing space because we can sell energy significantly cheaper than we could previously. So we are more resilient and competitive.
We always want to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and Tourism certainly cant cut it now, so what will we do?
I see that one core issue is that when we diversify to that extent, the average man can become involved and that is a threat to the Political Class (a term coined by Fruendel Stuart). That class seems to always need someone to look up to them for their bread crumbs and other paltry handouts, and without that perceived level of pseudo-importance, they will fight tooth and nail to keep this country back, to their own benefi and our collective peril.
Stop thinking like a slave mind. If we continue to see this as a curse, we will never rise above it. Get away from tourism and do so now.
Start to “Think services”
Think Intellectual Products,
Stop seeing every transaction as having to exchange a physical item, for money. Tourism doesn’t do that right now, so we are already part way there in our thinking.Start seeing transactions as being able to exchange ideas, and thoughts, the results of Research and Development ( R&D).
Stop expecting only certain “classes” to lead this economy and country. They have clearly failed because new ideas aren’t part of them.
“What Plan B can a tourism dependent economy have in a global economy gripped by a pandemic?” The one that neither depends on Tourism, or is affected by a pandemic.
The one that everyone needs, wants and uses, regardless of the time of day, month or yea is is. Think Instagram and Facebook. And to that point, Allan Emptage was the first person to write a search engine. The grand daddy of Google and BING. That’s what we Barbados should be selling. The proceeds from great minds who are conceptualizing ideas that are revolutionary, and evolutionary.
We need the will to let go of the status quo and enter into that bold new world where everyone can play a part in making it a success.
Do you see a new structure for a domestic economy now?
Supporting an alternative energy program is a good thing, from what has been discussed on BU over the years, however, replacing fossil fuel and BL&P must be done in a way to avoid destabilizing the grid in the process. The blogmaster is not an engineer to be useful discussing the intricacies of an aggressive transformation from fossil to alternative except to to suggest alternative energy is one strategy to save forex but it is not the only strategy. This government is pinning its hopes on the reemergence of tourism, all agree we should take the opportunity by using the current crisis to work at building a resilient economy by weaning ourselves from tourism. Let us agree on this point.
@The Watcher November 7, 2020 11:02 PM
“I see that one core issue is that when we diversify to that extent, the average man can become involved and that is a threat to the Political Class (a term coined by Fruendel Stuart). That class seems to always need someone to look up to them for their bread crumbs and other paltry handouts, and without that perceived level of pseudo-importance, they will fight tooth and nail to keep this country back, to their own benefi and our collective peril.”
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There is a lot of intellectual substance to your contribution; especially to the above quoted statement.
But questions still remain (as the Blogmaster pointed out subsequently) about the reliability and consistency of alternative energy supplies and their impact on the stability of the existing island-wide grid to undergird a modern economy dependent on the supply of services of whichever kind, in whatever form and whether local or international.
What will happen to the generating plant at Spring Garden? Should there be no further capital investment in it to ensure its capacity to supply?
BTW, just one minor matter of adjustment.
As is his wont, Freundel Stuart more ‘copied’ than “coined” that term “political class”.
It has been around in the realm of political science since the writings of Max Weber and even before.
Neither FJS nor his Bajan classmates pursuing politics purely for a vocation can ‘think’ that big outside their ‘myopic’ brain boxes to appreciate, even superficially, what you have just written.
@ Miller November 8, 2020 4:27 AM
I see that you simply adore the previous PM as much as some others do.
“Neither FJS nor his Bajan classmates pursuing politics purely for a vocation can ‘think’ that big outside their ‘myopic’ brain boxes to appreciate, even superficially, what you have just written.
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To the substantive point that you made, and that point made by the Blog-master on the stability of the grid and the usefulness or future of the SG Generating plant.
There is a MYTH, yes, a MYTH proliferated by elements of, or agents of the BL&P, or the BL&P themselves regarding this narrative surrounding destabilizing the national grid with PV generated power.
If you were ever graced with the ability to see what a 120V waveform at 50 hertz (cycles) looks like on an Oscilloscope, you can’t distinguish the source of the power between Fossil generated electricity or PV or other Alternative energy sourced power.
The only differentiation you will see here in Barbados at least is lots of “artifacts” from the BL&P source as their equipment i so old and ram-shackle that it is best to install Power Conditioners at your home when connected to these clowns. But enough about them.
The reason that the claim of destabilizing the grid makes no sense, lies in two facts:
1. There are stringent requirements imposed on any residential or business entity wishing to engage in a Grid-Tie arrangement with the local power company
2. The PV equipment used in grid tie is regulated and tested by organizations like UL (Underwriters Laboratory) and other bodies which are standards based organizations that ensure compliance to international electrical codes.
Let me at this point say that the BL&P should be grossly ashamed to even run this “smush” grid which really exists few other places in the world. The frequency/voltage combination ensures that we are not only NON-standard, but that when we have to go back to places like GE and Westinghose to order new generators, we have to pay top dollar based on this non-standard approach. And we know based on previous experiences with the BL&P, they will expect to put that cost directly on us because apparently their business model doesn’t support Op-ex, Cap-ex or any form of business expense. This is one of the reasons that we need to take over this national grid and run them out. Penniless too!
But that’s another discussion for another time.
Back to the grid.
So PV or any Alternative Energy source doesn’t destabilize any grid based on the Standards Based approach to engineering, design and integration. It would be quite surprising if it were to be able to do so here. But we are Barbados after all, and we just do everything differently than the remainder of the world, so who knows!
Let’s quickly touch on the generating plants at Spring Garden and Seawell. Put simply, they will run under less load. Our power usage during the daytime hours when I last researched it was somewhere around 130 Megawatts (130MW). At night this drops to 90 Megawatts (90MW). Of course, with no sun shining at night, their use is still necessary, but let’s hypothesize that we can produce across the grid cumulatively somewhere around 60MW per day, then we only need to produce (70)MW by fossil fuel generators like those at Spring Garden and Seawell to meet daily demand. And with more and more PV plants coming onto the grid, this figure can become lower by a percentage point or two over the calendar year.
So we aren’t throwing them away, but you can see how the cost of generating electricity falls dramatically with the integration of more and more solar onto the grid. Well honestly, more and more Alternative Energy. I keep reverting to Solar or Photovoltaic (PV) because it seems to be the most popular form or AE here in Barbados.
If we include wind into the mix, it gets even better. I envisage the erection of 5 or 6 multi megawatt wind turbines at the old location of the Earth Station at Bath St John. Let’s say we just erected 6 10MW turbines and grid tied them, that’s 60MW of power into the grid 24/7. Now dependency on the sun. Don’t bother to ask about salt air and all that because the world places these turbines out in the North Sea and they work. So if they can’t work at Bath, we have real problems.
The point here is, we can achieve significant gains with Alternative Energy, but are afraid of who will be able to own and use it to suppress the masses.as opposed to uplift them. So, we are going to have to decide what’s best; Throwing cold water and doubt on proven science, or getting Barbados really moving and not with Massa-controlled baby steps that amount to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
My action items would be as follows:
1. Make the necessary moved to re-claim and own the national grid. Offer Barbadians through a scheme similar to the NIS, a fixed share ownership in the company and limit investment by businesses or high net worth individuals so that it is truly a National asset.
2. Set a goal of 20 MW to the grid per year for the next 5 years as a National Initiative to grow the generating capacity of the company and invite power dependent business here to offer employment but more critically, technological development in the country.
3. Offer a rebate on the cost of a new EV with a trade in program for “old beaters” equivalent to the age of that old car up to 30 years. So as an example, if I own a 15 year old car, I can get a 15% discount towards the purchase cost of a new EV. I believe that this is significant in a few ways. First, the fuel import bill goes down. The cost of parts also gets reduced. We start to reduce automotive garbage generated as a result of having to dispose old car parts and sometimes, old cars themselves. Finally, but probably of the greatest importance, we reduce pollution and other dangerous by product gases of combustion.
This is not rocket science, it just takes the balls to implement in the face of rising stupidity and greed!
You are suggesting by your comment that the government does not have access to SMEs equipped to shatter the MYTH?
I don’t know who has access to what.
That MYTH should never have been allowed to take any root sufficiently so that it can come up in intelligent discussions. Should have long been put to bed.
So if the government possesses the mechanism(s) to have dealt successively with it is really unknown to me.
In my mind, I don’t think that it was honestly a government issue to be fair. It was so nonsensical that it should have just died with the average man in our population being educated enough to be able to discern truth from lies.
The government has access to expertise and it can be found in the private sector. Why have parties in the know not felt obligated to be strident advocates a la Cahill for example?
It all comes down to the big players and how governmental decisions will impact their revenue streams and the level of influence these players can bring to bear on government’s decision makers and their making process to adjust it to favour their interests or delay the decision process long enough that they can take advantage of the change when it comes.
Big players are not just big business but also various groups and associations that have the ability to influence the decision makers if they so desire.
@ David
I think Critical Analyzer on November 8, 2020 12:37 PM does full justice to your query. I don’t think I would have said it as eloquently as they did.
Until we are rid of the mentality which was described tin their response, your questions and questions like yours will always be posed, and almost rhetorically too!
The Watcher,
Seems to me you do much more than watch.
You actually see.
@The Watcher
Glad that you see where the root issue is located.
@ The Watcher November 8, 2020 9:27 AM
“Offer a rebate on the cost of a new EV with a trade in program for “old beaters” equivalent to the age of that old car up to 30 years. So as an example, if I own a 15 year old car, I can get a 15% discount towards the purchase cost of a new EV. I believe that this is significant in a few ways. First, the fuel import bill goes down. The cost of parts also gets reduced. We start to reduce automotive garbage generated as a result of having to dispose old car parts and sometimes, old cars themselves. Finally, but probably of the greatest importance, we reduce pollution and other dangerous by product gases of combustion.”
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All your proposals re the fast-tracking of the country’s Alternative Energy programme are sound and ought to be implemented if the government is to meet its ambitious goal of a Carbon-Neutral economy by 2030.
However, you ought to be sufficiently sensitized to the fiscal and social ramifications of your proposal re the widespread replacement of ICE vehicles with EV-powered vehicles.
Where would the Treasury find a replacement milch cow to make up for the massive loss in tax revenues currently generated by the sale of fuels for motor vehicles in order to continue powering the Bajan welfare state?
Like the pending disappearance of the ‘cashiers’ at the supermarket check-outs are you foreseeing the disappearance of the gas (petrol) stations in the present incarnation where there would be no need for delivery people and ‘gas-pumping’ attendants?
What would happen to those seeking those ‘low-skill’ job opportunities other than joining the ranks in the army of the ‘Voluntary Idle’ sitting on the fast expanding blocks in increasingly socially -depressed communities?
Where would the ‘recommended’ 80,000 nouveaux arrivants find jobs if those so-called low-skill immigrant-type jobs disappear?
In the traditional professions which, too, are on the cusp of being dominated and controlled by automation and AI?
@ Miller November 8, 2020 7:24 PM
These are all good questions that you are asking. Let me preface by saying to you that we (Barbadians) have to stop this practice of trying to find a solution to a problem by iterating ever possibly scenario and having the answer to the question that arises from each scenario.
That mindset tends to lock us up in fear and paralyzes any moves that we will possibly make when we hit a cognitive roadblock on our hypothetical journey.
Now, on to our story!
“However, you ought to be sufficiently sensitized to the fiscal and social ramifications of your proposal re the widespread replacement of ICE vehicles with EV-powered vehicles”
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I am. Very much so. This proposal has the potential of causing some “Social Dislocation” in some segments of our population. Of that I am well aware. So to be a bit more expansive here, it means less gas stations, in the next decade (Possibly). Don’t think that everyone is going to convert their car to an EV though. That will take some time in of itself. Less Gas Stations means less attendants, but EV use will open up a new market in of itself. I will expand on this idea in a later response.
“Where would the Treasury find a replacement milk cow to make up for the massive loss in tax revenues currently generated by the sale of fuels for motor vehicles in order to continue powering the Bajan welfare state?”
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I hate this question only because it is a total rip off that a previous PM imposed on this country with 200+ % duties levied on vehicle importation like we had some wonderful Mass Transit system to protect. The government since then has relied heavily on the revenue created by this rip-off tax and are quite frankly “dumpsy!” If our economy tanks and vehicle sales slump to single-digit numbers, what will you tax then? Grow a brain and then use it! I cannot feel for this sort of wanton stupidity. This is just like the reliance on Tourism. Be resilient.
Rant done!
I will tell you where it comes from. As ICE moves off the road, especially those that are less efficient based on their age, our fuel import bill shrinks. That means that less foreign exchange leaves the island, and hence there is more money in the Treasury. So by implementing that move, our cost savings are significant enough to offset the Pirate duty imposed on vehicle importation. And let me say here and now, I have been researching why an EV is attracting duty at the same rate as an ICE as it has no ENGINE and there is no equivalent scale or comparative mechanism to assess the output of the electric motor to that of the CC rating of an ICE. Recall that the cc capacity is what we use as a benchmark to determine duty assessed. So we are again ripping off people because we are just too “dumpsy to do better.
“Like the pending disappearance of the ‘cashiers’ at the supermarket check-outs are you foreseeing the disappearance of the gas (petrol) stations in the present incarnation where there would be no need for delivery people and ‘gas-pumping’ attendants?”
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Yes, I do see the change that it will bring. As I was touching on it earlier, those changes will be slowly phased in as more EV’s appear, but gas stations will probably need at least a decade and a half before starting to phase themselves out which I don’t see happening in less than two or three decades. That said, persons will find alternative employment as it relates to EV’s. These vehicles need more in the way of a Programmer and less in the way of a mechanic to maintain and keep them optimally running. Additionally, they need a new breed of Automotive Electrician than do ICE vehicles so right there I see the need for two new or modified professions with their ( EV) acceptance and growing popularity. Let’s not forget Hybrids, both Plug-in and non-plug in. They will need specialists to maintain and keep them running also and probably a more knowledgeable specialist than the EV because they are a combination of an EV and ICE all under one shell.
So I have no fear that as the lady who pumps your gas and mine now moves out of that job in the next decade or decade and a half, her son or daughter will attend SJPI or another institution and become proficient and competent in the maintenance and repair of Hybrids or EV’s. Welfare may just have to come to an end in the new economy!
“What would happen to those seeking those ‘low-skill’ job opportunities other than joining the ranks in the army of the ‘Voluntary Idle’ sitting on the fast expanding blocks in increasingly socially -depressed communities?”
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This is a question for those people. I don’t think that we have to sit and provide answers to all social issues especially those that persons impose on themselves. You see that term that you used,” The Voluntary Idle” I can tell you what they can do all like now.
Nuff bush bout de place want cutting down!
Nuff drains want de-clogging so dat flooding is reduced!
Nuff potholes want patching properly!
I can see lots of employment for them and it’s Low skilled as you specified. It’s also “Under-Achiever friendly” and No Ambition Aligned! So it’s just perfect for those who will seek to want to do nothing except ask for and expect handouts. EV’s present New Possibilities like Alt-Energy does. One of those is maintenance. If we have 1/3 or even 2/3 of Barbados’ roofs covered in Solar Panels, they have to be cleaned to maintain maximum output. They are not going to clean themselves, so someone with a pressure washer, and a 4 week course that will be put on by SJPI or other such institution will help to create opportunities and potential markets
“Where would the ‘recommended’ 80,000 nouveaux arrivants find jobs if those so-called low-skill immigrant-type jobs disappear?”
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I do not know if I got this one fully. It seems to be point to the plan to import persons here because some person or people postulate that our population is too small. If that is indeed where this question is going, I will respond rather fiery as I believe that we do not need to expand an Under-Class, but rather reduce it. If we are indeed going to bring people here, my criteria would be simple. You have at minimum 5 CXC’s at passing grades of 1 and 2. When you come you engage in getting trained up either online or at our local University or other such institutions to the Bachelors Degree Level
If you do not have 5 CXC’s and can prove competency in a specific area, you go through an assessment from the BAC of similar institution and are then asked to train up like the other previously described group at our local institutions or on-line to a level equivalent to the Associates Degree.
Don’t bring Ms. Myrie styled people here to sell “poke” and then talk shyte about Barbados is poor and you saw so much Zinc Fences where you lived.
You lived in a Ghetto because you were a Ghetto rat and had no skills other than “Twerking”. So did you expect to live in Fort George Heights or Millennium Heights with that skill set? Stay your collective asses where you are and don’t come here. That “Informal Services Sector” as I like to refeer to it as, bleeds millions of dollars out of Barbados yearly and it’s not taxed or regulated. We do not need to include these persons in our new plans.
Let’s start out eliminating the underclass from the pool or potential importees so we can avoid useless litigation and parasitic behavior that bringing these insects here can result in.
I may sound like Trump, but its pointless thinking it, knowing its dangers and not voicing it. So just don’t encourage it!
“In the traditional professions which, too, are on the cusp of being dominated and controlled by automation and AI?”
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I didn’t catch you here. This sounds like a thought that turned into a question but wasn’t quite completed. However, yes, we are going the way of AI (which we already have in a slightly different form) and Automation. But Humans drive machines, not the other way around and I don’t see that changing just like that. That said, we have to take the reins and control our own destiny.
We can ensure that technology is sufficiently regulated and controlled in law that it doesn’t get used to create more problems than it is supposed to solve. Humans will always abuse power, but if the correct legislative structures are in place to discourage this, I am all for the technology being used.
It is therefore time to start moving forward, with a unified effort that engages all and eliminates none!
The hole in the analysis here is that BL&P will have to comment to significantly accepting ‘intermittent energy’ in their power distribution not so? Energy efficient cars have to be charged from electricity. Can you say that a significant number of charging ports are powered by alternative energy? The blogmaster is willing to learn therefore patience is required.
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I believe that the term “intermittent” tends to cast a shadow, a veil of sorts on the energy source. It suggests that the source is not reliable or dependable. I therefore like the term Augmented as opposed to Intermittent.
Give it some thought.
As I had indicated in an earlier piece, I believe that when we have days of low sunlight, BL&P will generate more to meet with demand. Additionally, in our quest to feed the grid with whatever percentage of AE power we choose to meet as our target, Solar will not be the only power source. So even in days of low sunlight, there will be alternative power coming from wind, or even wave action.
As for the matter which you raised related to charging ports, AC power doesn’t differentiate in the manner you envisage.
Think to having three water sources all culminating into one big pipe. Or better yet, think of an inland lake fed both by a stream and the sea at high tide.
When you sample the water in that lake, you cannot differentiate how much is salt water or fresh water. That is because water is water is water and when you mix various sources, you get mixed water. It would require a chemical analysis to determine how much of that water is fresh as opposed to salt by volume.
Now, expand that analogy to the same lake and take away the sea, but feed the lake with 10 different fresh water streams. Now you have absolutely no real way of knowing when you analyze the water, which portion of that lake is related to which stream. Its all just water.
What PV Installations must comply with in Barbados, will guarantee that when the power is pushed back onto the grid, it meets some standard that ensures it is not differentiable from power generated at Seawell or the Spring Garden Plant.Hence, when I install a row of PV Chargers at Kensington Oval for instance, the power which flows to them is not power that I can say came from the PV Plant in Lakes Folly or from Spring Garden.
In essence, electricity is not routable in that manner that allows you to define on a grid which power source you are tapping into. Well at least if is not a Smart Grid and that is another conversation all in itself.
Hopefully that lends some additional clarity to your thoughts.
Thanks for your pellucid intervention. Will likely use it in a separate blog.
@ The Watcher November 9, 2020 3:15 PM
“As I had indicated in an earlier piece, I believe that when we have days of low sunlight, BL&P will generate more to meet with demand. Additionally, in our quest to feed the grid with whatever percentage of AE power we choose to meet as our target, Solar will not be the only power source. So even in days of low sunlight, there will be alternative power coming from wind, or even wave action.”
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You ought to expatiate a bit on the future role of the fossil-fuel based generating plant at Spring Garden (SG).
That plant is more than just a ‘slave’ but, also, an integral part of the whole electricity supply system in Bim.
Therefore, there must be some guaranteed level of electricity output to justify its operational efficiency and its economic existence/breakeven point; especially in a relatively static (some might argue, declining) market.
Wouldn’t increases in electricity production from other sources (additional solar/wind/etc to be fed into the national grid) reduce the amount of electricity to be supplied by the SG plant thereby ‘generating’ probable mismatches in demand and supply and the plant’s long-term profitability given its current ‘foreign’ ownership?
Just asking for enlightenment!
I am somehow lost here.
It seems like we are asking for justifications on keeping fossil fuel and the BL&P in its current form and not thinking of the way forward, and executing that way.
So I will ask, how will the target of 100% renewable Energy be met by 2030?
I mean. outside of the fact that it is probably nothing more than a pipe dream, will that target be met by worrying about how the plant at SG or Seawell will be used as we integrate more and more Alternative energy sources onto the grid?
I don’t believe that any more explanation is necessary at all. We can keep fossil fuels, keep the status quo, keep ICE’s and keep Tourism. Simple.
But just to expatiate a bit, let me deal with some of what you said or asked:
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That plant is more than just a ‘slave’ but, also, an integral part of the whole electricity supply system in Bim.
Yes it is. And so what? As we march towards more and more AE on the grid, that plant becomes less and less important and integral to us cumulatively.
So I guess without it, BIM has no value electricity wise?
If we continued to hold onto the notion of the horse and buggy, we wouldn’t have Electric Vehicles today now would we?
Look, if you are forwarding the notion that its so needed that we cannot eventually let it go, then just say so.
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Therefore, there must be some guaranteed level of electricity output to justify its operational efficiency and its economic existence/breakeven point; especially in a relatively static (some might argue, declining) market.
Do you work for BL&P or one of its subsidiaries? Because this is bewildering at best. I do not need to justify it in any measure. That is a problem for that company. if they cannot be resilient, then they probably should not be in business. This is why the so called “third World ” is always falling prey to white domination and rule. People are too afraid to launch out and leave the useless old, tired ways behind.
If I can in a day generate more output than I need, and that plant only comes on line at night, do you think that is enough justification for retaining it? Or should we abandon any gains made in AE so far and just shut it all down ? So you continue to find all sorts of ways to retard progress so that the status quo can be maintained and those who can have can always have, while the 90% of those who live from paycheck to paycheck can never progress. That seems like a reasonable model to you? Then just say so and lets address that. But the problem you seem to identify certainly isn’t mine, and I doubt that it is yours and quite frankly, it doesn’t exists!
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Wouldn’t increases in electricity production from other sources (additional solar/wind/etc to be fed into the national grid) reduce the amount of electricity to be supplied by the SG plant thereby ‘generating’ probable mismatches in demand and supply and the plant’s long-term profitability given its current ‘foreign’ ownership?
Let me break this in two and deal with the second part about foreign ownership first.
When we can GUARANTEE people profits , especially white people who are nothing more than greed-mongers, I find that idea socially, financially and morally repugnant!
You invest in business and run that business in a manner that it is profitable. You cant expect that I guarantee you a certain profit level at my own peril. It would never stop. So I could care less about the plant’s long term profitability and let me say this too, If you are a monopoly and cant be profitable, you are plain DUMPSY and need to be removed from any business! Simple!
If in a technology driven world, with A.I, Predictive Analytics, Big Data and all of these new tools, if I am have generating mis-matches, then I believe that the plant should be shut down. We have way too many tools in our arsenal today to even use that as an excuse as to why the corner store just up your street ran out of Tuna especially with the PoS system that they use at checkout. It simply cant be excused. We know to the minute over a 24 hour period how much energy is generated and consumed across the length and breadth of Barbados. Your electricity bill can point out down to the kWh how much energy you consume over a 31-day period and somehow we are going to have mis-matches all of a sudden. I just beg to differ, but if you get offered that line as a reason to keep AE off the grid, take it and carry it to the bank. interest rates there are now <1% so you are making splendid headway towards your own personal progress.
When Cable and Wireless were told about doing per-second billing, they proudly proclaimed that it could not be done. It was just impossible. Then Digicel came and all of a sudden, they wanted to be first to market with it.
The only mismatch in my mind here is the (BL&P == BARBADOS) mismatch.
Progress will not fall into our laps, or stick on our backs like a superglue pasted Velcro suit. We have to work for it, or it will not happen.
We can ask for all of the explanation possible or try to rebutt any idea that makes us uncomfortable, but in the end, we will lag and fall further behind while persons await explanations and justifications.
Enlightenment comes from doing. Enlightenment comes from taking the plunge into new areas where calculated risks have been made. It doesn’t come in great Bajan debates and excessively long dialogues with no clearly defined output or action items.
I hope that what little I have said previously can serve as the basis of you launching out to find the enlightenment you seek, but after all that i have said, if there was no enlightenment at all, then I do not have the ability of capacity to deliver it to you. So I will have to apologize and say that I cannot help you on this one.
@ The Watcher November 9, 2020 10:49 PM
The miller has no skin in this AE game or is presenting a case in favour of Emera to justify its current monopolistic position as enshrined in law.
What is being suggested is that both sides of the equation should be examined to shine light on the full practicalities of your proposals.
The question still left to be answered is who or what, in Barbados, is putting stumbling blocks in the way to promote and implement your proposals to save the Bajan economy from stagnation?
The political class serving the interests of the current business arrangements (including ownership) or the economic and fiscal realities on the ground?
But clearly not the miller in his quest for enlightenment along the Tesla Edison Latimer highway where he can see the day when ICE-powered vehicles would go the way of the horse-drawn buggy and power generating stations like the BLP Spring Garden plant the way of the old chimney stacks.
@ Miller November 10, 2020 7:07 AM
Please do not see these proposals ad “my” proposals that government is failing on implementing or even start examining. I have never officially presented these ideas to any government at any time. In addition, I believe that by making them publicly available, they can be modified ( hopefully for the better) and shared across our 166 Sq Mi border so that every Barbadian with some interest in these can weigh in on. Hopefully, a consensus will be reached that implements the best elements of them if not implements them holistically, but that is only my wish.
To answer your unanswered question, I will start by saying that I do not know what benefits we collectively derive from having certain information in our hands and not driving for change.It just seems to be to have a talking point around a bottle of E.S.A.Field or other such social beverage.
The main culprits to my mind in the slow uptake of Alt-E or those who erect stumbling blocks in the way of its adoption in this country are the Political Class. Many businesses are simply now “washing” their roof space with solar panels so much so that if you are ever able to get a birds eye view of Warrens Industrial Estates, it almost looks like every major roof with the excepting on Simpson Motors has this new form of power generation implemented.
This is not to say that they will or wont do it, it is to say that they may be late to the game, but their revenues comparatively placed next to all the other Warrens based businesses that have done so thus far, they may not see a business case for it at all. I really don’t know.
Back to the political class. We don’t do enough investigations here to ferret out who owns what, has interest in what , or is silent partners in what, so we miss many major decisions that are made and the underlying reason for them. We need to ask a lot more “uncomfortable” question of the persons that we put in power here whether they like it or not.
We wont get this farce that is thrown about related to “Integrity Legislation” and the Declaration of Assets anytime soon. That is the political class’s own secret weapon that they use to hide their gains, Ill gotten or otherwise. So its up to us to go digging and use technology aggressively to uncover wrong doing.
Ask yourself the question why we cant have Solar lights along H-way 2A? With the sun beating down daily, why do we need BL&P to provide lighting to streets and neighborhoods?
Why cant we have Solar Markers to delineate the edges of the roads. Lets say we have red markers at the edges, Yellow markers in the middle to define the center-line of the road, White to show turning lanes and the list continues. Blue for major stops and what have you! We can have a robust street marking program that seeks to make the darkest country roads visibly marked for night time use. And quite easily so too.if we took ten small solar companies, owned by us, and gave them contracts to erect, install and maintain solar markers and lights , held them to a standard that defined where they can source these items from, acceptable failure rates and other stringent requirements, we could start to move money through this economy again and energize small business. In three to five years at that rate of growth, we could possibly replace 30% of the islands streetlights and make our dark roads more visible and safer.
But its us to US to agitate for these improvements and not let politicians tell us what THEY believe is worth improving.
So, to answer your question regarding who is putting stumbling blocks in our way, I’d say that we all are while waiting for the magical messiah to appear and save us from all that ails Barbados.