Grenada regains majority shareholding in national electricity provider
/ Our Today
administrator
Grenada’s light and power monopoly Grenada Electricity Services Limited (GRENLEC) will continue to operate as a private company, although the government has repurchased the majority shares owned by WRB Enterprises.
The Government of Grenada has secured significant cost savings in the just-concluded repurchase of shares in GRENLEC. The deal is part of a settlement agreement with WRB Enterprises, which brings to an end the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes arbitration case brought by the company.
Through a US$63-million settlement, the government has regained control of the 50 per cent shareholding sold to WRB Enterprises in 1994. However, this settlement is US$12 million less than the arbitration award.
In addition, the government has also acquired 11.6 per cent shares in Grenada Private Power Limited – a WRB-affiliated company. This was occasioned as WRB initiated legal proceedings in 2017 following the passage of laws by the Grenadian Parliament to liberalise the electricity sector under a World Bank-funded Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) project.
Search on for a company to manage GRENLEC
The Grenadian government says that it has already approached the World Bank and the International Renewable Energy Agency to procure the services of a world-class management company to operate the utility and facilitate the divestment of the shares through a public offering.
This is in addition to advancing the country’s objectives towards greater use of renewable energy and achieving energy security, returned reliability, lower prices, and greater access, including the provision of much-needed renewable energy powered streetlights across the country.
With the arbitration settled, Grenada can now move forward with the much-needed reform of the electricity sector, which is a key element of its transformation agenda as outlined in the National Sustainable Development Plan 2020 – 2035.
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