LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN: Enhancing Climate Resilience of the Energy Sector in the Eastern Caribbean

There is clear evidence that extreme weather risks are being exacerbated by climate change across the globe, putting critical lifeline infrastructure at risk. In a global ranking of climate risks, all six eastern Caribbean countries are within the top twenty most affected by extreme weather. Such events can set Caribbean countries back decades overnight. For example, hurricane Maria damaged about 98 percent of the power transmission and distribution (T&D) network in Dominica. Therefore, enhancing resilience to reduce vulnerabilities from extreme weather is imperative for these countries' socio-economic development.

The objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive extreme weather emergency preparedness and response/recovery plan for the electric utilities in St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda, as well as the necessary institutional procedures and protocols for the effective implementation thereof. The project provided recommendations to the utilities on how to incorporate disaster management and preparedness (DMP) considerations and climate resilience into future energy projects, particularly with respect to independent power producers (IPP) in the negotiations for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The activity led Antigua and Barbuda's utility APUA to use the recommendations for their negotiations with an IPP on a new project. In Saint Lucia, these recommendations were shared with the Ministry of Energy to further convey to the regulatory authority (PURC). The PURC is in the process of developing PPA templates for IPPs to operate in Saint Lucia and will be able to use these recommendations for their work in negotiating future projects. 

As a result of this project, the extreme weather emergency preparedness and response/recovery plans for both electric utilities were also revised to conform with international best practices and to support the utilities in addressing extreme weather and other emergency events. To ensure the sustainability of this project, the activities also built and strengthened institutional procedures to integrate emergency preparedness and response/recovery as an integral part of the utilities' operations.  

Specific activities of this project entailed:

• A sample PPA with recommendations on best practices ensuring resilience and sustainability;
• A gap analysis of both utilities' DMP policies and procedures;
• The revision of existing DMP policies and procedures; 
• The creation of training and exercise materials, the execution of training and exercises with relevant staff, as well as instructions to local staff to conduct training and exercises in the future;
• The drafting of additional guidance documents on climate resilience for any future developments of energy projects. 

This work will be replicated with other Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean and beyond.