NEWLY re-elected president of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) Omar Azan this week defended his position that the introduction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will not be enough to reduce the island’s high cost of energy.

At the same time, the JMA at its annual general meeting (AGM) plans to offer capacity-building services starting 2011.

“The Government needs to implement policies to protect overburdened taxpayers and encourage diversity of our energy. Liquified Natural Gas alone will not cut it,” he stated at JMA headquarters on Duke Street in Kingston.

The context was Jamaica’s high cost of energy which he said hindered the competitiveness of manufacturers.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel because there are models in the Caribbean and Latin America. In addition, we have to find a way to put an end to illegal connections, as well as to open up the sector or we will continue to bear the brunt of high fuel and electricity costs.”

Azan and the Energy minister James Robertson have last month been in a public tit-for-tat over LNG, however, both parties have seemingly reached a compromise.

Llast month at the Observer Monday Exchange meeting of reporters and editors, Azan questioned the stability of LNG pricing compared to oil and argued that there is no guarantee that global demand would not, in the future, put both commodities on par in costs. He proposed a broader based approach to the provision of energy, which should include a mix of wind and hydroelectric power.

Jamaica’s business community has long bemoaned the high cost of electricity supplied by the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) as creeping increases wreak havoc on the budget of companies and local households alike. Electricity provider the Jamaica Public Service produces electricity using heavy fuel oil at its facilities at Hunts Bay and Rockfort in St Andrew; Old Harbour, St Catherine; and Bogue in St James, and paid US$460 million last year for oil imports, according to communications manager Winsome Callum.

Two weeks ago, Energy minister James Robertson announced the selection of a Belgium company — Exmar — and its consortium, as preferred bidder to construct a LNG floating regasification unit here for supply of the fuel to JPS and bauxite companies.

Robertson argued that a conversion to LNG could save approximately US$350 million on the country’s annual oil bill, while allowing manufacturers and householders up to 30 per cent cheaper electricity rates.

At the same time, the JMA plans to offer services to manufacturers as part of Vision 2030 for Jamaica’s development. It will offer these services under its proposed Centre of Excellence at the JMA slated to begin in 2011.

JMA executive director Imega Breese-McNab told the Caribbean Business Report yesterday that the centre would offer capacity building services and training and will be head by JMA vice-president, Simon Roberts.

“We are developing services to manufacturers that would come with a cost. These are expansion services for our members and other manufacturers,” stated Breese-McNab.