An electricity sector blueprint that is “grounded in the community’s needs” has been finalised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it was announced this week.

The finished National Electricity Sector Policy 2026 will replace the 2015 version and outlines the Government’s energy approach until 2045.

A consultation period for the NESP closed on May 21.

The ministry said: “The 2015 policy established Bermuda’s first modern framework for the sector.

“In the 11 years since, the sector changed faster than the policy governing it.

“The policy arrived at a time of rapidly moving energy events. In Bermuda, new licence classes were created. Distributed generation has increased. Fuel prices moved sharply due to various geopolitical factors.

“This has required the evolution of a policy grounded in the community's needs.”

Described as “intentionally technology agnostic,” the plan prioritises costs over advocating for a specific technology or a deployment schedule.

Alexa Lightbourne, the home affairs minister, said: “Affordability is structural and this policy treats it that way.”

She added: “Every pathway is costed before it is adopted.

“Bermudians for too long have carried the price of plans that were never tested against the bill at the end of the month.”

The 2015 NESP was followed by the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019, which set a renewable generation target of 85 per cent by 2035.

The ministry said that the goal was “never established as the least-cost pathway”.

It added: “Every resource option is compared on a levelised cost-of-electricity basis through the IRP, and the shift to lower carbon generation proceeds where it holds or reduces rates against the business-as-usual case.”

The ministry said: “The policy fixes the 2025 average retail tariff as the reference point against which future tariff performance is assessed.”

Under the plan, the Regulatory Authority would develop and approve the IRP with the help of energy sector participants, “in place of the previous arrangement once amended in law”.

The ministry said: “Renewable deployment proceeds where technologies are cost-effective and deliverable.

“Targets are set on evidence and reviewed at each planning cycle.”

On equity between customers, it added: “Tariffs must reflect the true cost of service so that grid-reliant customers do not carry the costs created by distributed generation.”

Solar panel users this week carried out a demonstration march to the Regulatory Authority as they highlighted opposition to the RA’s approval of a Belco facilities charge price hike that it is claimed could treble the cost for residential solar — or distributed generation — customers.

After the policy was released for consultation in April, Chris Worboys, an expert in the fields of renewable energy, efficiency and policy through his work with the Bermuda Government and private industry, and now in Britain, highlighted that “unequivocal” climate science showed extensive emissions reductions are needed over the coming decade.

He added then: “The impacts of climate are not abstract; they affect homes, health, infrastructure and the natural environment upon which Bermuda depends.

“Internationally, energy policy is increasingly guided by carbon budgets and science-based targets.

“These targets are not just aspirational; they are a key policy mechanism that helps to reduce the cost of financing for new infrastructure by giving investors confidence in long-term direction.

“There is a clear opportunity for Bermuda to adopt a similar approach and in doing so, we would be following the example already set by many other small islands.”

The Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce said later that it was launching a community fund to pay for an independent study that would “evaluate how Bermuda can achieve up to 95 per cent energy independence while lowering costs for all residents — particularly the most vulnerable”.

This week, the ministry said that the NESP proposed a community and co-operative energy licence, “opening renewable participation to renters, apartment dwellers, low-income households and small businesses”.

It added: “Electric vehicles are treated as a driver of electricity sales and tariff stability, supported by a dedicated tariff, smart charging and battery end-of-life planning.”

The ministry said that policy milestones will be agreed, as informed by data, with the RA first coming up with potential approaches based on modelling for the lowest costs.

It added: “The minister then declares the milestone by ministerial declaration under section 7(2) of the Electricity Act 2016, stating the aggregate figure, the checkpoint years and the evidence relied on.

“The authority determines the annual pathway, the procurement volumes and the technology mix through the IRP.

“That sequence follows established practice in Hawaii, the United Kingdom and the European Union, sized for Bermuda’s grid and institutions.”

The NESP can be read with an explanation from the Government at gov.bm/articles/national-electricity-sector-policy-2026.