PIOJ head clarifies LNG position

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I REFER to your editorial on Monday, February 14, under the caption 'Dr Hutchinson's case for LNG transparency'. Whereas I commend The Gleaner for its willingness to engage in such an important national conversation on the topic of Jamaica's Energy Policy, I am constrained to write to you to clarify some issues related to the interpretation of my presentation.

First, by way of background for readers who would not have been able to read or hear my remarks, I think it is important to emphasise that both my written and oral presentation dealt with five main themes:

(1) Energy efficiency and security are among the critical underpinnings of long-term growth in the Jamaican economy.

(2) Diversification of energy sources and a reduction in the cost of energy to end-users the outcomes that will enhance national energy efficiency and security.

(3) Important initiatives are currently under way to achieve these outcomes, not-ably the Government's move towards the adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as an alternative energy source.

(4) The introduction of LNG will have a price impact, which is likely to translate to increased gross domestic product growth.

(5) To maximise the gains to growth, the introduction of LNG should be accompanied by other measures aimed at ensuring increased efficiency along the entire energy production and distribution chain. In fact, in my written speech I used numbers to illustrate the benefits of efficiency gains along the supply chain.

Second, the themes explored in my presentation underpin the National Energy Policy of the Government, and are at the heart of and are consistent with Jamaica's long-term development plan: Vision 2030 Jamaica - National Develop-ment Plan and the National Energy Policy Action Plan 2009-2012.

Mr Editor, it is the media's prerogative how it chooses to interpret public presentations and their implications for national policy formulation.

However, to claim that my presentation posits a case for "LNG transparency", and in particular, to make the case "for the need for a full, frank and open discourse on the energy source that Jamaica should adopt to drive its economy into the future" is, in my humble view, a mis-characterisation. Certainly, this was not the intention of my presentation. I have posted the text of my presentation on the Planning Institute of Jamaica's website at www.pioj.gov.jm for interested readers to arrive at their own judgement, and am now trusting that you will give some prominence to my response.

I am, etc.,

Dr Gladstone Hutchinson

Director General

Planning Institute of Jamaica