The Energy Efficient Lighting project, conceptualized to address the current energy needs of the citizens of Montserrat, is aimed at increasing the efficiency of energy consumption within the residential sector through the installation of energy efficient lighting, which will take place in the form of a lamp exchange programme.
Lamps will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner and lamp standards will be implemented to guide future lamp purchases by merchants and residents. With the implementation of this project the participating residents would benefit from a reduction in energy consumption resulting in less money being spent on electricity and more money being saved.
The project is being implemented by the Energy Department within the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labor and Energy with funding from the RESEMBID Programme in the amount of €174,668.00.
The Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID) is funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France – the development cooperation agency of the Government of France, supports sustainable human development efforts in 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) – Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos.
The overall objective of RESEMBID, is to support the sustainable human development efforts of participating countries and territories, with the thematic priorities being Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity.
In 2020, domestic consumers accounted for 48% of the electricity consumed in Montserrat. Lights are among the biggest energy consumers in households accounting for 10%-20% of the monthly electricity bill. Hence, domestic lighting accounts for 4.8%-9.6% of the annual electricity consumption. The Energy Efficient Lighting & Environmentally Friendly Disposal Project was designed with the aim to reduce the electricity consumption of residential households while providing the public with information on energy efficiency and promoting the importance of environmentally friendly disposal of lamps.
The project will look to build public awareness of energy efficiency and affordable energy efficiency measures throughout the island through various methods of public outreach. Some of these outreach methods include the distribution of flyers with registration opportunities, radio appearances discussing the project and radio advertisements bringing attention to the project and the bulb exchange programme.
There will also be a capacity-building aspect of the project for participating staff of the Environmental Health Department. These staff members will be trained in the usage of a Bulb Crusher which is an integral tool needed to safely dispose of lamps. Future proofing of the entire project will be the drafting of a Cabinet paper to adapt the lamp standards already developed by the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) for use on island.
Persons interested in registering to participate in the bulb exchange programme can do so by using the link or scanning the QR code provided on the flyer posted on the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy’s Facebook page or the flyers found around commercial areas on island such as supermarkets. Persons can also contact the Energy Department by Tel:(664)-491-2521/2522 Ext: 7329.
The project is facilitated by the Energy Department and supported by RESEMBID Programme Manager for Sustainable Energy Nnyeka Prescod and external specialists during the implementation.
About RESEMBID:
The Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID) commenced operations on January 1, 2019 and is being implemented over a period of 58 months. The programme supports the sustainable human development efforts of the 12 Caribbean OCTs, namely: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, and Saint-Barthélemy.
Financed under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean OCT Regional Programme, RESEMBID is being implemented by Expertise France, with the primary stakeholders being the 12 Caribbean OCTs. The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten has been designated Regional Authorizing Officer (RAO) for the 11th EDF Caribbean Regional Programme, and as such represents the 12 Caribbean OCTs vis-à-vis the EU. The RAO liaises with national authorities and other stakeholders of the Caribbean OCTs and plays a key role in information-sharing and knowledge management.
