Thompson: NPC doing well

Despite the job cuts by other statutory corporations during the past year, the National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) has been able to keep all its staff as well as provide some opportunities for employment.

That’s according to Dr. Asquith Thompson, Chairman of the Board of the NPC, he made the point while commending employees for a job well done this year, such that the company provided a stable supply of natural gas to its customers with almost no outages and no accidents from gas escapes. He was speaking at the recently held joint Christmas luncheon hosted by the NPC, the Barbados National Oil Company (BNOC) and the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources at Halton Great House, as he also spoke about the plans to amalgamate the NPC and the BNOC, which formed part of Government’s plan for the rationalisation of state enterprises.

Thompson said considerable work has taken place behind the scenes during the past year, and he said much progress has been achieved. He made the point while noting that this effort is expected to gain momentum in the coming year. He spoke to that while also making mention of Government’s plans to transition Barbados to a fossil fuel free economy by 2030, which he said the NPC will play a significant role in.

“How the NPC can effectively contribute to advancing this strategic goal has been occupying our attention at the Board level. The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy will fundamentally transform Barbados and is part of a global trend. The aim is to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and global warming,” he said.

Thompson continued, “We are not immune to these phenomena, many persons have said and I agree, that this year has been the hottest in Barbados in living memory. We have come face to face with climate change and global warming, it is therefore in our collective interest as a country to contribute to combating these two major challenges of our time, NPC is doing its part by being on board with the shift to renewable energy and leading by example.”

The NPC chairman said that the gas company has recently installed solar photovoltaics panels on the roof of their Wildey, St. Michael headquarters to assist with electricity generation, which he noted was done as part of a joint project with the BNOC. Additionally, he said the NPC is transitioning to a fleet of electric vehicles, which is being achieved through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank. He went on to say that in collaboration with the University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Agriculture, NPC is at present involved in a pilot biogas project. Through all these initiatives, he said, NPC is practically demonstrating the benefits of renewable energy.