Above: Grenada

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenada’s government is planning to purchase a majority stake in the GRENLEC electric utility.

The government said Friday it had advised Grenada Private Power of its intentions. Grenada Private Power had issued a notice last week giving the government the first option to buy GPP’s 50 percent stake in the utility.

The government currently owns 10 percent of GRENLEC shares, while the National Security Scheme owns 11 percent.

“The high cost of electricity is now a binding constraint to Grenada’s growth and competitiveness and must be addressed,” Mitchell said in a statement.

Mitchell said that the government had no “intention of directly managing the utility,” but that a change of law and policy would be “essential to lower prices.”

Grenadians currently pay 40 US cents per kilowatt hour, one of the highest rates anywhere.