$100,000 fine a bit harsh: Senator Drakes

Opposition Senator Crystal Drakes is concerned about the significant fines attached to contravening laws under the Control of Inefficient Lighting Act 2021.

Speaking in the Upper House on Wednesday evening, she stated there was clear evidence that the island was pushing forward with its renewable energy plan, but the $100,000 fine attached to grievances within the legislation was an issue to be looked at.

“It seems that the regulatory environment is trying to move in the direction that we ramp up a lot of the renewable energy and clearly the energy efficiency with this bill. It is also commendable to note that sometimes we talk about the lack of cohesion between research [and] policy legislation, but I think this bill in particular, shows a clear cohesion between the Barbados National Energy Policy, the amount of renewable energy studies, and the energy-efficient studies that have been done in Barbados for the last 10 to 15 years. And it is clear that the legislation in itself as I read through it as relates to things like establishing standards, to labelling, the importation, the manufacturing, the sale of what we’re trying to phase out as these inefficient energy lighting systems, is in complete coherence with the Barbados National Energy Policy. So, that is to be commended.

“What did concern me though is the fines, and I take this into consideration that this is the maximum. I believe that a person can be fined, which is at the discretion of the law courts. $100,000 is the fine, attached to a lot of these grievances within the legislation or up to $100,000. I think that is a bit harsh. Given that we don’t want to create an environment where people feel as though the fines are discriminatory in relation to the exercise that we were trying to achieve. We want to make sure people have the right information, and we want to have an environment where they’re more encouraged to make this transition as smoothly as possible. So that was the only thing I should say is that within the legislation was a bit of concern for me,” she stated.