Dear Sir,

Sarah Lagan’s “Clearing the Air” piece on June 26, 2023 when read together with her piece on June 24 brings Algonquin/Belco’s behaviour into very clear focus.

Algonquin and Belco are gaming the system to get what Algonquin itself always wanted: Bermuda consumers to pay the cost, somewhere between $150 million and $250 million, of switching to the fuel that made Algonquin famous — liquefied natural gas.

They are not switching to light fuel oil proactively to avoid the soot discharge because the political pressure created by the soot problem serves their purpose in getting the Government to push the Regulatory Authority to OK the switch to LNG.

There are multiple ways to solve the soot and SO² problems, any number of which would cost less than switching to LNG. (LFOs, engine modifications, exhaust-system modifications, exhaust gas precipitators or scrubbers, etc.)

The central point here needs to be repeated in clear terms whenever this soot problem is discussed. That is that Algonquin and Belco are solely responsible for the problem. It was their sole decision to specify these engines to run on LNG. They did this because Algonquin’s main business is LNG supply. They did this despite having no indication from the RA that LNG would be approved as a fuel.

Whatever it takes to solve the soot problem must happen at the sole expense of Algonquin and Belco!

The Bermuda consumer must not be forced to pay for any remediation by including the cost in the rates we pay. This needs to be made clear by the RA and the Government — by legislation if necessary.

JAN CARD

Smith’s