THE RAPID pace of globalisation brings challenges to produce goods and services at competitive costs. This means that the costs of our productive inputs must be reduced. Long-term sustainability depends on ensuring secure supplies of energy at economic and stable prices.

• To achieve these goals, we promulgated a bold, revolutionary energy sector policy with the following key objectives:
• Ensure stable and adequate energy supplies at the lowest economic cost in a deregulated and liberalised environment
• Diversify the energy base and encourage the development of indigenous energy resources where technically feasible and economically viable
• Encourage efficiency in energy production, conversion and use
• Complement the country's Industrial Policy, recognising the importance of energy as a critical input to industrial growth and stability
• Establish an appropriate regulatory framework to protect consumers, investors and the environment; minimise the adverse environmental effects caused by the production, storage, transport and use of energy.

During the next term we will:

• Implement a National Energy Diversification Strategy to complete the switch from high sulphur heavy fuel to clean burning natural gas.
• Achieve a minimum of 50 per cent switch from oil to clean fuel by 2006
• Install a natural gas pipeline along Highway 2000, providing cheaper and clean energy, critical to industrial expansion
• Provide access to natural gas as household fuel for the Millennium Town in Clarendon
• Develop appropriate use of renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar and hydropower
• Improve the use of energy-saving devices
• Complete the erection of 20 megawatt wind farm at Newport, Manchester
• Create an enabling environment for the establishment of an industrial complex and the development of new industries at the natural gasterminal site
• Increase the contribution of indigenous energy sources to 12 per cent of Jamaica's energy supply mix
• Complete the Rural Electrification Programme, by providing electricity to the remaining 6 per cent of Jamaica now without.

ENERGY STRATEGY

Our new energy strategy will prove to be a major catalyst for our targeted production and economic expansion thrust in the next term. In addition to being cleaner and enhancing our sustainable development and environmental protection objectives, cheaper energy sources will significantly increase our ability to manufacture industrial products competitively.