The amount of power being used by St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a country is rapidly increasing.
This is according to Minister of Urban Development, Energy, Airports, Seaports, Grenadines Affairs and Local Government Benarva Browne during her appearance on WE FM’s Issue At Hand program on Sunday.
Minister Browne said that as a result of the nation’s rapidly increasing energy usage, the St. Vincent Electricity Services (VINLEC) would have to invest in additional power generators soon.
“St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are rapidly increasing the amount of energy we use as a country. In 2020 we were using 21.84 megawatts of power as a country, in 2023 we are up to 23 megawatts of power. We have actually surpassed our projected energy use, we surpassed it last year and therefore VINLEC is going to have to invest quickly in power generators to keep up with the demand,” Minister Browne said.
Minister Browne said the current usage numbers surpass those projected for when various hotels are scheduled to come on board. She said a major contributing factor in the nation’s increased energy usage was the increased temperature, with many in SVG increasing their use of air conditioners and other cooling devices to beat the heat.