It will be interesting to see what Dutch Caribbean courts may ultimately rule in the dispute between Otium BV and Curaçao’s Ministry of Economic Development, MEO (see Monday newspaper), over a concession to produce solar energy. The stated intention is to do so on a commercial basis, break the monopoly of the utility provider Aqualectra and help lower electricity tariffs.
The Joint Court found last September that MEO had wrongly rejected the request by assuming it had to count for both production and distribution. However, a separate application for production is allowed.
The minister was given six months to make a new decision, a deadline that expires on March 17. MEO had also been instructed to develop a policy for the allocation of production capacity in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including Aqualectra, Otium and companies with power purchase agreements.
GEBE too has a monopoly position. That’s even more the case here because of the lack of comparable private use solar panels, facilitated by favourable buyback rates in Curaçao.
St. Maarten’s government-owned company announced related development plans more than once, but so far, with little tangible result. If the courts were to recognise a basic right for outside large-scale production, it might have local implications as well.
Keep in mind that there are also offers to generate energy with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) on the Dutch side. This case could prove to be a potential game-changer.
