With all that has been happening, the 60th anniversary of utilities provider GEBE (see Wednesday paper) should not go unnoticed. To say that the government-owned company played an important role in the development of St. Maarten would be an understatement.
In doing so it had to keep production capacity up with the spectacular economic growth that brought a rapid increase in demand for tap water and electricity. With the hospitality industry greatly reliant on both, it was crucial to ensure a reliable and reasonably-priced service.
This, while dealing with setbacks such as more than half a dozen damaging hurricanes including Luis in 1995, the devastating impact of which accelerated the switch to underground instead of overhead cabling. The latter greatly helped the country recover speedily from subsequent catastrophes such as Hurricane Irma in 2017.
But the coronavirus-related crisis has also led to a drop in demand, with mostly empty resorts and other tourism-related businesses. The same was true during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US and their impact on air travel.
Those are not easy circumstances to operate under, and all involved with GEBE, past and present, may be congratulated on this milestone. Sure, there is – sometimes founded – criticism regarding, for example, the dreaded fuel clause, the exorbitant two-month water bill during the lockdown or the time GEBE basically ran out fuel, but on the whole one would have to say “job well-done”.
There is one thing missing though and that is delving into alternative energy. This could eventually not only lower cost and lower emissions to fight climate change, but also reduce the island’s dependence on oil imports and make it less vulnerable to shipping supply issues.
That would entail significant enhancement of the country’s resilience, which was one of the main goals of the Dutch-sponsored Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, because Saba as well as St. Eustatius now have experience with solar power plants, including making them storm-resistant.
There was even an existing plan for solar panels over the public parking spaces on the Pondfill with the company requiring only that the land be transferred under its name, but the minister in charge at the time refused. Perhaps that decision can now be revisited, because certainly in the new normal, “green” will be the way to go.
