Caribbean power companies association elects Vincentian chairman
KINGSTON, Jamaica – THE Caribbean Electric Utilities Service Corporation (CARILEC) has elected Thornley Myers its new chairman.
Myers is the chief executive officer of St Vincent Electricity Services, the electric utility which serves the island state of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Myers was elected at Tuesday’s Annual General Meeting of the association of electric utilities and suppliers across the region. The meeting was part of the just-concluded CEOs Conference with Communication Symposium, which was held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.
Myers, who will serve for two years, takes over from Peter Williams, CEO of Barbados Light and Power Holdings. He assumes the position with a wealth of experience from over 20 years in the electricity industry, both in his own country and regionally. The new chairman said that the continued work of the regional body is critical, and that the front-burner issues which he will be focusing on, will include: the regulatory environment in which the utilities operate; the high cost of electricity and the development of renewable energy.
Myers was also recently appointed to head the committee established by the St Vincent Cabinet to implement the PetroCaribe Energy Agreement.
The recently concluded CEOs Conference, at which he was elected, was held under the theme: “Trust Leadership — Strengthening our Commitment Unleashing Our Potential”.
Several presentations were made by electricity experts across the region, on several topics. These included: “Smart Power Generation with Flexible Gas or Dual Fuel Engine concepts”; “Reinventing the Island Utility”; “Tariff Restructuring: The Cost of Electricity”; and “Energy from Waste Financing”, among others.
President & CEO of JPS, Kelly Tomblin, addressed the conference on the topic “Transformation in Difficult Times — The Leadership Challenge”. Other communications areas included a presentation from JPS’s Winsome Callum entitled, “Taking the Hurricane Response Beyond Wires and Poles”.
The CARILEC CEOs Conference is an annual event held in one member state each year. Last year’s conference was held in Grenada.
