Sustainability group Greenrock has praised the potential of proposed new energy legislation but said it still raises lots of questions.

Minister of Energy Terry Lister said last Thursday he would table the Energy Act 2009 which proposed a new regulatory authority for energy supply.

It proposes the creation of an Energy Council responsible for regulating the price of electricity, along with controlling licences for the sale of electricity. Currently, as the Island's sole power supplier, Belco's energy prices are regulated by the Price Commission Act 1974 under the Ministry of Finance.

A statement from Greenrock said: "This announcement by Terry Lister helps to open the door to small and large independent power suppliers and removes the 'special status' that Belco historically held in Bermuda.

"Without the power of this Act, there would be no way to regulate new projects, which would further delay their implementation and benefit to Bermuda."

Despite the steps promised within the Bill to develop regulations, a lack of details in the statement left many lingering doubts about the proposed Commission, according to Greenrock.

Among the questions asked by Greenrock in its statement were:

• Will this Energy Commission be independent of Government influence?

• How will decisions of the Commission be appealed?

• How would Commission members be elected, and how long they would serve?

• What conflict of interest provisions there will be and how transparent will the process for requesting a price change be?

While Greenrock is still waiting to hear more about the act, it agreed with Mr. Lister that new regulations were the first necessary step forward for the Island.

The statement from Greenrock added: "This is a good move for Bermuda today, tomorrow and the future. As Minister Lister said, Bermuda has a chance to be a world leader in energy independence."