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Energy Minister Joy Grant was the Keynote Speaker and after her presentation, she spoke with the media about the significance of these discussions for Belize. She told us that there is the plan have access to power in every community throughout the country, as part of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative currently endorsed by the region:

Hon. Joy Grant
"This meeting is to address the common problems of energy and opportunities in the region, for example, energy efficiency is a huge topic. We need to look at it very closely, but also at the same time rural electrification; getting electricity to the villages that presently don't have it is a priority. When we look forward and we look to solving the problems, as I said earlier we could look at it at a national level and we are and we are coming up with solutions, but it's always best in circumstances such as these to look at it from a regional perspective. We signed on to the UN declaration in energy for all and we committed that by 2030 we want all our people to have access to electricity. It sounds like a very difficult goal to achieve, but we are very sure that we can do it. We have put in place certain policies and programs that will get us there. For example, working with the IDB who will be coming down shortly to look at the villages where there is no electricity and to determine whether we could use renewables. For example, we could use solar or sometimes maybe hydro and once that study is completed the funding will then be in place for us to get electrification into these villages."

Reporter
"Are these relevant to other SICA member countries about what they are doing in their countries?"

Hon. Joy Grant
"Yes, Belize is less in that we have a smaller population, so we could say that we are confident that we will achieve this goal. In the other countries yes they are looking at renewable energy and trying also to have access for all and in many of these countries I think the challenges are even greater, but if we could do something and do it right in Belize then this could be the pilot for what the other countries could then look at and maybe institute or do some of these same projects the same way in their countries."

Reporter
"Would you be able to tell us what amount of the population of Belize have access to energy at this point?"

Hon. Joy Grant
"I can't tell you the percentage, but we have about almost 20 villages that are without. You know 20 villages are of different size. Some of them are really small and the reason they are not connected to the grid is because of the size. It becomes then uneconomic for electricity company to run the lines in there because they will never be able to get back their cost, that's why the ministry has taken the view that we have to look at renewable energy to get energy there."

By the Government's, count there are 20 villages in Belize which are currently without electricity. According to Grant, the technical analysis says that it is not economically feasible to get electricity to them because of the start-up costs to Belize Electricity Limited to run power lines to them. In these communities, plans are being designed to provide power by renewable sources of energy.

The Energy Technical Meeting Continues tomorrow, but while that it is taking place, another arm of SICA, called the Central-American Agricultural Council, will be collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture to host another technical meeting to discuss Agricultural Health & Food Safety. Natural Resources and Agricultural Minister Gaspar Vega will deliver the keynote address at that meeting tomorrow.