PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patter-son last night announced an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago for Jamaica to be supplied with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to reduce its reliance on oil which costs almost US$1 billion to import annually.
There is also a push, he said, to use a tax incentive system to encourage the use of more diesel and electric vehicles.
In a national broadcast outlining his government's new energy strategy for national development, Mr. Patterson said he would be leaving the island today for Port-of-Spain where he will sign the agreement with Trinidad's Prime Minister Patrick Manning.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES
"This agreement is expected to lead a competitive, predictable and assured long-term supply arrangement for LNG on an agreed base pricing and escalation basis," Mr. Patterson said. He noted that geo-political conditions made the outlook for oil prices both uncertain and unfavourable.
Mr. Patterson also stressed the need to identify alternative energy sources such as LNG, solar and wind energy, to reduce Jamaica's heavy dependence on oil. And in backing energy diversification, the prime minister said LNG provides additional energy for uses other than providing electricity.
"LNG brings one considerable advantage," the prime minister stated. "It will allow the introduction of electricity generation plants at vastly increased levels of efficiency, and more environmentally friendly, compared with the oil-fired plants we now utilise."
The use of LNG, he added, opens major opportunities for local producers with the potential to revitalise the manufacturing sector as well as other economic spin-offs.
