Barbados Light & Power Company Limited | |
Founded: | 17 June 1911 |
Hq Location Country: | Barbados |
The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P Co.) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Caribbean and currently the sole electricity utility provider in the country of Barbados. It started operations on 17 June 1911. The company claims it has over 100,000 customers. The fuel provided is natural gas and fuel oil.
The company operates three power generating plants:
Other power generated substations were:
Power is transmitted at 24 kV, which is then distributed at 11 kV and consumed at 115/200 volts or 115/230 volts (residential), 230/400 volts (commercial), or 11,000–24,900 volts for industry at a frequency of 50 hertz.[1]
Electricity rates in Barbados are claimed to be some of the highest in the Caribbean. However, the company is currently in the process of negotiating a direct undersea pipeline for natural gas from Trinidad and Tobago through the Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline.
BL&P is also engaged in a long-term study of the feasibility of creating a wind farm off the north coast of Saint Lucy.
The Barbados Light & Power Company is a member of the Saint Lucia based Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) based in Washington, DC, USA.
The Barbados Light & Power Company celebrated its 100th anniversary on 17 June 2011, with the slogan "Electricity: powering our nation since 1911."[2]