Energy Minister Terry Lister appears to have made a good start with his newly established portfolio. Energy, and Bermuda's dependence on fossil fuels, is rightly a critical area of public and Government concern.

Mr. Lister rightly pointed out this week that Bermuda spends about $100 million on fuel for the electricity generation and it makes sense to try to reduce that bill, especially if oil prices continue to rise, as seems likely.

But it goes further than that. the world does not have an infinite supply of oil, and as supply diminishes, who gets that supply will become more and more political. Bermuda is too small and too isolated to have much weight in that debate.

Then there is the whole question of the environment. Bermuda's impact on the climate change is small, but it is important that it does what it can to reduce carbon emissions and to improve air quality.

This is not to say that the Bermuda Electric Light Company has not been exploring alternatives to fossil fuels for some time. Its Current to Current investment, its exploration of large scale wind turbines and its pilot house in Warwick are all examples of what it is doing.

But Belco cannot do it on its own, and as a monopoly, there will always be a certain amount of scepticism about its motives. That is where Government and other citizen groups can step in.

A good deal can be done to encourage other forms of power generation and it is here, in the encouragement of competition, that Government should focus its attention.

It could start, and may do so in the Budget on Friday, by making all forms of alternative power duty free in order to make the equipment needed for solar and wind power more affordable.

Secondly, Government should be able to facilitate the return of power to the grid by private producers. It has already had some practice with this through the Tynes Bay facility, and should now be able to work with Belco and private producers to come up with a formula that works for everyone.

At this stage, it would be unreasonable to expect alternative forms of energy to replace fossil fuels, but to the extent that they can reduce demand, they must be encouraged.

Another area where Government can help is in encouraging more electric vehicles through duty and licence breaks. A good deal is already done in this area, but the take up for cars has been very slow. Electric vehicles reduce dependence on oil and gas and improve air quality. Although vehicles fall outside Mr. Lister's ambit, he needs to be proselytise on their behalf.

He can also use Government's weight and apparently unlimited budget to support public awareness campaigns on how to reduce power use. Belco already does a good deal of this, but Government can be a bully pulpit for doing more.

Mr. Lister clearly needs to remain an honest broker as he stands between Belco and the consumer. But it would not be a breach of this role if he was to lobby his Cabinet colleagues to make land available to Belco at the East and West Ends of the island for smaller power plants.

Belco has always said it would prefer this approach to the major redevelopment of its Pembroke plant that it is now undertaking. That redevelopment is also politically unpopular and it is hard not to have sympathy for the residents around the plant. They should not have to take on the full burden of living with the consequences of Bermuda's demand for energy.

In all, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown was sensible to create a new department to deal solely with the Island's energy needs. It is important that it not become a massive bureaucracy and so far, Mr. Lister seems to be determined to contain costs. All in all, he is off to a good start and the public should be ready to give him more ideas when his round of public meetings and consultations start.