Policy falls short of a legal right to green energy

| 10/08/2023 | 70 Comments
Cayman News Service
Premier Wayne Panton hosts the National Energy Policy virtual forum

(CNS): The draft updated National Energy Policy includes changes promoting more equitable access to green energy sources. But officials have said the proposed new implementation plan only considers consumers’ right to access the national grid but doesn’t mandate it. Fourteen years after the CORE programme began, only 3.5% of local power comes from renewables, and those wishing to switch to renewables are still constrained by CUC and OfReg’s piecemeal rollout of access.

An online digital town hall meeting on Wednesday, billed as an opportunity for public interaction on the draft policy, fell short of expectations when it failed to address some of the fundamental problems surrounding our energy sector. While Premier Wayne Panton said that Cayman must switch from costly, polluting fossil fuels to clean, affordable green energy, he didn’t explain how the systemic problems preventing the country from moving to 100% renewables would be tackled.

Questions submitted by CNS included why the policy doesn’t make access to renewables a legal right, why Cayman has failed to come even close to the targets in the existing policy, why a study on the value of solar has not been released, and how the policy to take public ownership of future renewable energy plants, announced by the premier in May 2022, is moving forward. None of our questions were answered during the meeting, though some were answered in part by ministry officials on Thursday.

Addressing the question of equal access to green energy and the right to that access, the ministry said the policy had been designed for all consumers, including disadvantaged communities, to participate in distributed generation programs.

“The updated National Energy Policy takes the view that both utility-scale and distributed generation are necessary for the Cayman Islands to achieve its energy targets,” officials stated in an emailed response to our questions. “In the future, the energy supplied to customers from the grid will be majority renewable, meaning customers will not have to own their own systems to be able to access the benefits of renewable energy.”

But they confirmed that the policy considers, but does not mandate, consumers’ right to produce renewable energy and energy storage and its effect on costs, stability and reliability of electricity on the grid.

Panton, who is the Minister of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, admitted during the online meeting that Cayman needs to pick up the pace when it comes to the adoption of greener energy. “We absolutely need to make more progress on this, especially now that energy is a very specific issue that is at the forefront of people’s minds in relation to the cost of living. We also have rising temperatures in addition to rising costs.”

He said it was costing more to keep cool and keep the lights on, which gave added impetus to make more progress. The premier said that with year-round sunshine and its soft, fresh breezes, Cayman had an abundance of natural resources to convert into cheap energy.

The new policy has a greater emphasis on energy efficiency and energy storage and includes a new target of achieving 100% renewable generation by 2050. It also includes a new goal of generating 30% of the islands’ energy through renewables in just seven years.

CUC confirmed that just 3.5% of energy currently used is generated by wind or solar. Stakeholders in the solar sector believe that limited access to the grid is blocking the expansion of green energy, which is why Cayman is still more than 96% dependent on fossil fuels.

Panton stressed the new emphasis in the policy on social equity, but those interested in switching to domestic solar have a stark choice: wait and hope they can access the grid through the next CORE programme release or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on sufficient battery storage to enable them to come off the grid.

Many people believe the piecemeal release of access to CORE and the broader Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Programme for commercial solar is why the adoption of renewables has been so slow, despite the perfect conditions to do so. As the owner of the grid, CUC controls how quickly Cayman can adopt renewables and remains critical to the success or failure of the energy policy.

Speaking during the online presentation, CUC President and CEO Richard Hew implied that things could soon change. Hew has argued that the slow release of access to CORE is to protect the stability of the grid. But on Wednesday, he said that the power supplier would be able to connect many more rooftop solar systems and other domestic or larger-scale renewables to its grid once its battery storage project is complete.

He said this would be completed in 2024, and CUC was now undertaking a study on how to expand renewable access from the current limit of 29 megawatts.

Officials at the ministry told CNS in their emailed response to our questions that this battery energy storage system “should move the Cayman Islands to approximately 25% renewable energy by 2025, putting the proposed interim target of 30% by 2030 within reach”.

During the forum, Hew said that to avoid surges or loss of power, a delicate balance between the energy coming into the grid and the energy being used must be maintained. He said that CUC’s grid, which has been described by the Office of the Auditor General as a “gold-plated network“, is very reliable but could be destabilised if the sun stopped shining while it was using renewables and the diesel generators didn’t kick in quickly enough.

He explained that CUC currently runs more diesel generators than it needs to as quick and immediate backups for when solar power suddenly stops. However, the battery plant is expected to prevent that potential instability.

“In the future with our battery project, the batteries are going to be charging and discharging to help the diesel [generators]… balance the grid,” Hew said. “But without the reliable power of the diesel engines and the batteries, the intermittent solar will cause instability,” the CUC boss added.

See the online town hall meeting on CIGTV below and read the draft energy policy here.


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Comments (70)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I’m not sure who the best qualified
    might be. Ive been here about 25 years and I haven’t seen anyone that I thought was a good leader! Most of them were just in the game to enrich themselves…… and they DID! They were just scarfing up some money to put in their banks. Where do all these money men come from?

  2. Anonymous says:

    CUC is a private company that has brains behind it and profit margins.

    Government is run by a bloated civil service who barely made it past high school with no accountability.

    Therein lies the problem of the Cayman Islands.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes, but There are more than one problem, my friend.

      There are many others, but I don’t want to waste my ink.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Unlike anywhere else in the world CIG and CUC do NOTt allow home owners to generate solar power, store it in batteries and when batteries are depleted the CUC network kicks in. This setup is safe, efficient and allows everywhere else home owners to use solar. CUC does not allow this because they will loose a lot of income and CIG supports CUC in their position, most likely because politicians own CUC high dividend bonds and are afraid of the monopoly position of CUC.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It is obvious who is holding back our little country, but no one seems to do anything about it. The people running the show want to keep making the people of the Cayman Islands pay more than necessary because the current owners are ——- yes, you are right! They are greedy! It’s the nature of all of us! When there are big bucks to be pocketed the pocketeers want to keep on raking it in! This will continue until the people DEMAND a change… So Don’t hold your breath.

  4. Anonymous says:

    We were better off when we didn’t have electricity.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Lahaina, Maui.
    Perhaps electric lines were a proximate cause but why are the burned areas closed off to the electric company, and perhaps other investigators? Why no initial response or warnings from a variety of systems that would have existed, why the secrecy, why no boats pulling people out of Lahaina, why no Navy response from the outset, why all the diversion, why no real investigation? Something really really stinks here, and its not the burned out hulks or cadavers.

    I hope Cayman residents pay attention and do ASK questions, just how ready Cayman is for the shocking turn of events?

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  6. Anonymous says:

    With the no electricity emissions and massive vehicle emissions reduction targets for 2050, is this government going to phase out propane as part of this plan?

    Given the implications for personal and commercial investments, the government should ensure they announce their position so we can make decisions accordingly.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Only thing green in these islands are the muppets paying exorbitant and ever increasing CUC prices.
    There’s no incentive to make electricity cheaper when they have the total monopoly on the supply. It’s a racket!

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  8. Anonymous says:

    seen the CUC caravan in Cardinal Avenue promoting green energy.
    shame about the polluting diesel generator powering it.

    only in Cayman

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    • Anonymous says:

      LOL

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    • Anonymous says:

      *Cardinall

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      • Anonymous says:

        Bit embarrassing for you when you take the time to correct someone’s spelling but then get it wrong yourself. Get a life muppet!

        CNS: I believe it was the same commenter correcting his/her own comment. The name of the road is, in fact, “Cardinall Ave”, so there is no cause for them to be embarassed.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    For flat installations, the solar panels must be tilted at an angle of 5 degrees or less to likely withstand hurricane-force winds. Currently, many systems are installed at angles of 5 degrees or more. Legal regulations should be established from the perspective of stable power supply.

    In addition, when solar power is generated on-site, it should be avoided as much as possible that more power than is consumed on-site flows out to the public power grid. Flowing electricity from small-scale solar power into the public grid is likely to be significantly less cost-effective than large-scale generation for commercial use. There should be a limit on the size of solar power that can be installed based on the size of the building.

    Since solar power is concentrated during the day, wind power, which can withstand hurricanes, and hydrogen power, which imports fuel from overseas, should also be considered.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Dirty electricity elevates blood sugar among electrically sensitive diabetics and may explain brittle diabetes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18568931/

      Anyone who has solar grids should be asked one question: How long have you been diabetic? Since after your solar panels were installed? Do you know how to test the converter? Lot’s of them make nnEMF (non-native electrical magnetic frequencies are man-made and delivered to us by modern-day technologies) and they allow massive amounts of dirty electricity from the power grid to enter your home.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This person’s claim about installations to resist hurricane winds is entirely false. Maybe true if they were propped up on some cement blocks.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    They also discussed plans to prohibit the use of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and impose fines for non-compliance or for parking in electric vehicle (EV) charging spots.

    The intention is to make the import of ICE vehicles even more costly and disallow it beyond 2050.

    This could lead to an increased level of criminalization for us.

    Furthermore, it was mentioned that, due to funding received from the EU for carbon-related studies, we are now allegedly obligated to adopt their carbon regulations. This raises questions about surrendering our sovereignty in exchange for funding. It would be valuable to see how this aligns with our constitution – whether it’s legally permissible to alter a country’s laws at the request of an NGO.

    There’s no reference to the extensive re-education that will likely be implemented to reshape our population’s mindset around climate change, fostering fear and potentially implementing laws to counter dissenting opinions.

    These policies, rooted in the #UN2030 agenda and accompanied by manipulated information about the severity of climate change, pose significant authoritarian risks.

    The omission of the planned carbon credit systems for all incoming freight, both air and sea, as well as the bans on open flame cooking, and the potential constraints on future travel for citizens, is noteworthy.

    These proposed policies are hazardous and could result in substantial negative consequences and suffering.

    Let’s also delve into the issue of the considerable waste generated by batteries and the challenge of implementing massive solar farms on our limited landmass to meet future energy demands.

    It’s worth noting that the photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency for solar energy is approximately 15-20%, with around 5 hours of daily production, in contrast to the average efficiencies of power generation: 35% for coal, 45% for natural gas, and 38% for oil-fired generation, which operate around the clock.

    We must exercise great caution when deciding to transition our reliance solely to solar energy.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Another example of someone that values their own luxuries over their effect on the world they live in… with everyone else.

      They are in denial because they might have to give up their weekly beef rib bbq and annual cruise trip.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Why not consider selling all your belongings and embracing a lifestyle amidst the trees? This way, your carbon footprint would approach zero. Simultaneously, you could liquidate all the possessions owned by you and your family. We’ve grown weary of your imbecile groups advocating while appearing foolish to the rest of us.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Straw man fallacy. There’s no point adjusting our country’s approach towards a sustainable future because no one wants to live in the trees. Great argument.

    • Anonymous says:

      Seems like a lot of hot air. So what are your solutions to warding off a warming planet?

  11. Monopolly says:

    Regardless of whether or not a herd of self-replicating invisible unicorns took up an environmentally benign existence on every square inch of coast, willing to provide all of Cayman’s energy needs via green as green can be telepathically delivered methane derived from their miraculous flatulence, all in exchange for nothing more than an unhindered access to eat up all of the sargassum and plastic flotsam and jetsam into all of foreseeable perpetuity, monopolistic greed and administrational collusion and cowardice would still find a way to stand in the way.

    There be the disconnect.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Waffle waffle (not his brekkie) followed by a whole heap of nothing and back in his cave.

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  13. commonsense says:

    The current costs to install, maintain (Including insurance and battery costs)and replace components of solar power far outweighs centralized power. The public should be provided with the cost analysis from an un-biased source to determine the financial reality. Also, we should also be informed of the electromagnetic radiation risk of these systems.

    The problem with this kind of environmentalism is that it is ignoring the basic principle that our bodies
    are electric. At the deepest levels of our biology, we are electromagnetic. This is how our nervous
    system works. It’s how our cells communicate. Thus, by filling our lives with ever more artificial
    electromagnetic frequencies through solar technology, electric cars and wireless technology, we are
    robbing ourselves of health, vitality and potentially many years of life.
    The truth is that our current view of environmentalism is incomplete. It blindly accepts any solution that
    is remotely related to reducing greenhouse gases, even if that solution is endangering our health. The
    inconvenient truth of our time is that the high amounts of EMF pollution created by our green
    technologies has the potential to directly affect each of us as much or more than climate change. (dark side of solar article)

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    • Anonymous says:

      You wrapped ridiculous points in a ridiculous argument.

      The thing is, there is some truth to how green projects are being pushed. A lot of them are half baked and have a hidden agenda to make certain people rich. However, you have failed to make your argument clear in any way shape or form so now you look like a nut.

      The cost to run your own solar might be costly at the moment but some people see having a backup power source as a benefit. There are benefits to being partially self sufficient (until Big daddy bill gates blocks the sun with chemicals to ‘save the world’)

      Also, I’m done with this argument what it takes to create solar panels or electric cars. I’m a person who just wants self sufficiency and to do what I can for my myself and my immediate neighbours. I’m not trying to save the world at this point, but if I can invest in something now so that when the gas prices go back up because of ‘the war in Niger’, I can at least run some appliances off a battery and make attempts to change.

      If I worried about all the EMF and other shit that corporations and boomer generation forced the world to accept, then I’m better off dying in a ditch.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Not OP. You don’t know what you don’t know. 11:53 is correct

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      • ( ͡ ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡ ͡°) says:

        11:53 is up to date, while 3:45 is 300 years behind in understanding concepts of life processes. 3:45 is being wedded to chemistry in the 17 century fashion of Law of The Conservation of Matter and obviously has limited academic exposure.

        Well known electromagnetic properties of human physiology and even mental and phycological phenomena are not attributed exclusively to chemistry, which is a part of life processes, yet life processes don’t completely follow the laws of chemistry.

        By the way, to this day doctors prescribe chemical treatments called drugs to all diseases almost exclusively.
        Conclusion: talking to someone like 3:45 about advanced matters is like explaining the Middle Ages peasants how smartphone works.

        P.S. Law of The Conservation of Matter and Energy (Lavoisier’s Law 1743-1794)says: Matter can be neither created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed. Energy can be neither created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed. (this is also called the first law of thermodynamics)
        Discovery of natural radioactivity in 20th century brought into existence new fields of study: nuclear physics and quantum mechanics and a new hybrid field of nuclear chemistry

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      • Anonymous says:

        We are electrical beings!
        We have nerves that are conduits for electric fluids and send electrical signals throughout the body and to the brain, making it possible for us to move, to think, and to feel, and for our bodies to function optimally.

        EMFs, electrical magnetic frequencies, are naturally delivered from the sun. We have evolved to utilize these natural EMFs to fuel and optimize our function.

        nnEMFs frequencies are different from the sun and they create oxidative stress in our cells!

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      • Anonymous says:

        ‘To date, scientific evidence does not support a link between these symptoms and exposure to electromagnetic fields. At least some of these health problems may be caused by noise or other factors in the environment, or by anxiety related to the presence of new technologies.’ – WHO

        You guys will believe anything that allows you to feel less guilt about your impact on a planet that does not belong to us.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You’re correct. One is dead not when his heart stops beating but when electricity stops running his bodies. We are electrical beings, electricity runs our biochemistry and biophysics. Yes bio-physics.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Brilliant comment. Thank you

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    • Anonymous says:

      We’ll 11:53, I invite you to share your thoughts and or explanation on why humans are living longer despite the solution that you say is endangering our health.
      We humans seem to be a fairly resilient bunch. Despite our sometimes dreadful eating habits, poor sleep habits, sedentary lifestyle, we continue to out live most of our predecessors.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Living longer or able artificially extend our existence? Huge difference.
        Check cancer statistics in Cayman.

        I live near a Cancer treatment center in the US. I took my neighbor in to see an oncologist-the place reminds an anthill and is very depressing.

        I don’t know where did you get the data that we live longer. It seems that people are dropping like flies from CVDs and cancer. It used to take months or years for cancer to progress from the stage 1 to 4, today it takes weeks-few months. Friends and family members who died were either mid 50s or early 60s. All had cancer. Only one who refused chemo, for he had a stroke on his first treatment, lived 5 years with NH lymphoma.
        Lastly, non native electro magnetic radiation is a 21st century phenomena, the last 10 years had changed our em environment astronomically. If you pay attention people in their 20s get cancer diagnosis plus all kind of conditions that baffle doctors. Infants and toddlers get cancers or born with congenital abnormalities.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Green energy, green energy, green energy

    How about the fire safety on this rock, taking into account the ticking bomb aka The Dump, covered or not?

    “This was an impossible situation. The winds that hit us on that side of the island, the gusts were up to 80mph. Some sustained up to 45 and 60 mph. Everything happened so quickly.
    ‘I can’t comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not but the fires came up so quickly and spread so fast. ”
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12396041/Hawaii-wildfires-Desperate-search-disabled-veteran-66-missing-sent-ominous-photo-family-governor-warns-toll-significantly-worse-1960-tsunami-killed-61-Cadaver-dogs-search-1-000-missing-53-dead.html

    Do they even consider the possibility of such a scenario?

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    • Anonymous says:

      “Dem Hawaii Rep. Jill Tokuda, also admitted Saturday morning in an interview with CNN that the state had ‘underestimated the lethality, the quickness of fire.’

      She said no plan was put in place for potential failures in its emergency alert system which is typically received on cell phones. There was no cell phone coverage in the area at the time. “

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    • Anonymous says:

      Cayman won’t burn – they’re getting rid of the mangroves and trees and replacing with concrete

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  15. Anonymous says:

    ““In the future, the energy supplied to customers from the grid will be majority renewable, meaning customers will not have to own their own systems to be able to access the benefits of renewable energy.”

    But they confirmed that the policy considers, but does not mandate, consumers’ right to produce renewable energy and energy storage”

    Reading between the lines, this appears to be saying that we will all be buying solar energy from CUC.

    How does CUC propose they supply this? Will they be destroying hundreds of acres of vegetation to do so? We need to keep in mind the long-term costs of removing trees to install solar:it’s not just a one-off cost/loss, but a permanent loss that needs to be taken into account.
    If we are affected by another Hurricane Ivan-type storm, all the solar in the world won’t help us if it’s all held by CUC.

    Anyone else have an issue with this?

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  16. Anonymous says:

    When third world votes for third world you get…third world. Not gonna change Bobo.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    A litte rock in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, blue skys and a once tranquil way of life is now being badgered about pollution and clean energy. Please get rid of this government, banning old car imports was a start in the right direction. Get the plastics under control and lets get on with our lives. Imagine it only takes 1/2 generation to ruin almost everything!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Banning old cars just means they are imported elsewhere to pollute the same air you breathe bobo

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  18. Anonymous says:

    just more of the usual ineptitude and incompetence….
    caymanians elect these people so you have no-one else to blame but yourselves.
    and to make things worse, you also prevent the most qualified and successful people on island from being elected…
    welcome to wonderland.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m not sure who the best qualified
      might be. Ive been here about 25 years and I haven’t seen anyone that I thought was a good leader! Most of them were just in the game to enrich themselves…… and they DID! They were just scarfing up some money to put in their banks. Where do all these money men come from?

  19. Anonymous says:

    another bad day at the office for wayne….

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  20. Anonymous says:

    All lip service from the government. They don’t want to help. Look at the CHEER program… the criteria ensures as little people as possible qualify. When are we going to wake up and see that no matter who is in power, they don’t serve us the people.

    How many more assistance programs with ridiculous criteria?

    How many more ‘strategies’ that have no actual plan?

    when are we as a people going to finally do the work ourselves? Learn and do things for ourselves instead of sitting back and waiting these people who lie and cheat to get elected to do something for us.

    If CUC doesn’t want my power then that’s fine. I’ll just disconnect after I build my solar power system out. Starting small, but once it gets big enough and I can rely on my own power, I’ll just not use the grid as much. Enough of us take the time to do this properly and see how quick CUC cries for our money.

    It’s time we start acting like adults who can manage themselves.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    More soon come

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I am all for individuals producing their own energy, and I am considering retrofitting my home with solar panels. However, I still want access to the grid, just in case. This personal requirement caused me to think of a potential issue. If more and more individuals and companies begin producing their own solar energy and consume less and less energy produced by CUC, then who pays for the maintenance of the existing grid? If, over time, CUC revenue decreases substantially, then their ability (and motivation) to maintain the grid also decreases. Therefore, when I need the grid, it might not be “available”. Someone has to pay to maintain/expand the grid. If I stop paying my part, then who will pick up that bill?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Centralization comes with benefits and issues. CUC controls it all and want to maintain control so that they can extract as much wealth as possible.

      Think of it as a pendulum. CUC have it in their corner and if we all didn’t need to use them anymore the pendulum will swing back towards us. Then CUC will need to think of ways to accommodate us to bring the pendulum closer back. The conflicting forces probably won’t bring the pendulum in the middle but it won’t be in CUCs back pocket.

      With the decentralization of services such as the electric grid, when we all become the power source we open the door for those with skill and interest in electrical engineering to become the maintenance crew. Imagine your strata has one person who is contracted to maintain your power system. Individuals can become consultants and contractors in a similar way that we have so many AC service companies.

      Is it convenient in a time of emergency when everything goes down and we don’t have a centralized company to bring it back up or rely on? No, but one could argue that the desire for convenience has created this mess where one or a group of entities/individuals get to control something so vital to our existence yet their only purpose is to “generate wealth for their shareholders”. They control something and use it for a purpose that often is the opposite to our needs,.

      Maybe being responsible for our own needs is what is required, despite its possible inconvenience

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      • Anonymous says:

        Your theory sounds great but it relies on an even distribution of persons who are both motivated and capable of maintaining the grid. Also they would all need to adhere to a common standard of installation etc etc. I still maintain there needs to be centralised responsibility and accountability for the maintenance and expansion of the grid with some form of oversight, presumably from the government. What you are describing is a self regulating system with too many parties involved for the Government to regulate/oversee. A situation that is likely to result is instability and inefficiency of our electricity supply.

    • Anonymous says:

      “If, over time, CUC revenue decreases substantially, then their ability (and motivation) to maintain the grid also decreases. ”

      This highlights a wonderful point. We want electricity because of the benefits and convenience it brings us. CUC’s focus is money.

      Why are we relying so much on a company to deliver what could be considered an essential service who isn’t doing it for the reasons we need?

      If money is the ultimate driver for them, and we need electricity, do we continuously subject ourselves to be reliant on one company? Are we slaves to this company? If they say they are packing up and no longer want to operate here, do we just throw them all the money we have so that they will stay? After all, who will maintain and expand the grid?? <— why not us but on a smaller scale?

      We also need food and water but now EVERYTHING is competing with each other for our money. We need to make choices between what is essential to the way we live.

      If CUC loses interest in providing the service because it isn't profitable, I completely understand. However we as people can't sit by and continue to lie to ourselves that these companies who care about money somehow possess morality and compassion when the people are hurting.

      We need to start looking inward and developing ourselves to gain the knowledge we need, in order to live the lives we want.

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      • Anonymous says:

        We rely on them because no one else successfully deployed a scalable grid many years ago. CUC does not provide electricity out of the goodness of their heart. No company intends to lose money or give away its products or services. CUC has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to operate a profitable business, and the financial pain caused by rapidly increasing inflation is not in its control to solve. This point can not be ignored and the same will be true for any corporate entity. Anything different are usually called charities. In my opinion it is for the elected Government to develop policies to offer protection to those most vulnerable in our society. The rebate scheme implemented is a good example. However, it highlights the point in the previous comment. Someone has to pay for the electricity and grid.

        To your point of what is necessary, I want to know when my child needs a light to finish their homework or a little A/c or a fan to sleep those services are there for my consumption. This in my view is necessary.

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t worry there will never be so many people nearly-off-grid that the power distribution costs will not be well covered. (Power overgeneration for ‘firm backup’ is a different story.)

      (Also, if you’re hooking up through CORE, etc., even if you generate 90% of your own energy you still pay CUC for 100% of the ‘line costs’. For the reason you have identified.)

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    • Anonymous says:

      In that scenario other utilities have just proposed shifting toward more fixed charges, covering the cost to keep you connected to the grid and having it available for when you need it (you’re just using it less often). Solar advocates cry out against this concept because it means the solar energy “benefits” appear lessened, but they’re been using the grid as a conceptual free battery from the outset for their business proposition.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    I’ll call myself ignorant, sniffy and commenting with disdain. The truth is I saw a policy headline with Windbag Wayne and have no interest in the serial claptrap this evening. 😣

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Come see how much CUC goin charge for a gallon of sunlight now.

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  25. Anonymous says:

    As usual Wayne waffled and is obviously unwilling to break CUC’s stranglehold monopoly on grid accessibility. If lid came off the solar power pot, the technology would become less expensive and over time the cost would flatline or even reduce for consumers. There are renewable energy technologies out there that provide constant reliable power 24/7 but these of course scare CUC as they ultimately would disrupt their monopoly very quickly.
    Wayne, you’ve failed us once again and need to go down in the annuls as Cayman’s Janus Premier.

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    • Anonymous says:

      CUC not wanting individuals to produce their own power is quite analogous to Banks not wanting people to invest their own money independently in crypto.

      Scared of a future where their business model inevitably fails.

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      • Anonymous says:

        aint it the truth. Every company will say what they need to have a good reputation until it conflicts with their wealth and power. Then we see how fast they despise the very people they pander to for operations.

        We are nothing more than slaves and peasants to these people. Their vision is nothing more than spreadsheets and ratios. “We” don’t exist outside of a source of revenue they rely on. and they are RELIANT on us. remember that, or perhaps we need to remind them.

        Why do all the big money players get to throw their weight around and get special treatment while I get spoken to like a invalid? Maybe we should remind them that 1 hIgH nET wOrTh individual still doesn’t compare to the regular folk.

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      • Anonymous says:

        yup. Everyone is all for advancement until it messes with their bottom line. Then, they treat us like dirt and talk down to us as if we are stupid for even thinking of things like crypto and solar power systems.

        Why does it seem like many of us are used to being treated like trash though?

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      • Anonymous says:

        H9w to make $50k in crypto. Invest $100k

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