Caribbean Aggregation Procurement Programme (CAPP) Workshop

Caribbean countries could significantly lower electricity costs and attract more renewable energy investment by joining forces to procure energy projects as a region rather than individually, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Business, Kevin Hunte, said Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of the Caribbean Aggregation Procurement Programme (CAPP) regional workshop at Courtyard by Marriott Bridgetown, Hunte urged regional governments to pool their purchasing power and standardise procurement systems to better compete in the global energy market.

The workshop brought together regional energy ministries, regulators and development partners to discuss competitive, aggregated renewable energy procurement across the Caribbean.

Hunte said the region remained heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, leaving Caribbean economies exposed to global market swings and geopolitical instability.

“The overwhelming majority of the electricity that powers our hospitals, our schools, our small businesses and our homes is generated using fossil fuels that we import from somewhere else,” he said.

He noted that Caribbean citizens continue to face some of the highest electricity costs globally because of the region’s small markets, isolated grids and fragmented procurement systems.

“A family in Bridgetown, in Castries, in Kingston or in Roseau pays a premium not because of anything they have done, but because of the scale of our markets,” Hunte said.

Despite abundant renewable energy resources, including solar, wind and geothermal potential, Hunte said deployment across the Caribbean had remained below the global average over the last five years.

He warned that procuring projects individually would continue to drive up costs, arguing instead for a unified regional approach.

“If we pool that demand, if we standardise our procurement processes and documents … the benefits are extraordinary,” Hunte said, adding that regional collaboration could generate significant savings while making the Caribbean more attractive to international investors.