Energy Efficiency in Saint Lucia Cassidy DeMos, Lena Forman, Abby Kerin, Meryl Klein, Travis Reynolds, Alanna Toner

Overview Project Goals Objectives Previous Work Hypotheses Methods Results PSA Recommendations

Project Goals To reduce energy consumption in St. Lucia through the promotion of energy efficient practices Economic Environmental

Objectives Engage in consumer research Survey Promote energy-saver light bulbs through cost subsidization Coupon Distribution Promote energy-saver light bulbs through consumer education Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Survey Background 263 surveys gathered in 2006 Price respondents were willing to pay was EC$5 Barriers to purchasing energy-saver bulbs Reynolds, T., Murray, B., & Neil, H. (2006b). Energy Efficiency in Saint Lucia Final Report. CDAE 195 Final Report: University of Vermont.

Hypotheses H 1 : As education levels increase there will be a higher self-reported willingness to pay for energy-saver bulbs H 2 : As knowledge of energy efficiency increases, it will lead to a higher self-reported willingness to pay H 3 : As price of energy-saver bulbs is reduced through coupons the number of energy-saver bulbs purchased by Saint Lucian consumers will increase

Survey Methods 4 January – 10 January Castries, Rodney Bay, Soufriere, Vieux Fort 530 consumer surveys Personal interviews Intercept surveys

H 1 Results – Education vs Willingness-to-Pay On average consumers only want to pay EC$11 regardless of education Those with no education were only willing to pay an average of EC$7.50

H 2 Results – Knowledge vs Willingness to Pay People familiar with energy efficiency were on average willing to pay EC$1.50 more for energy-saver bulbs than those who were not familiar (P-value: 0.033) Increased income was not associated with increased willingness to pay

H 3 – Bulb price vs purchasing patterns

Survey Results: Barriers to Bulb Purchase

Coupon Distribution URECA Grant Distributed with surveys Discounts of 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 90% off Free bulbs

Coupon Distribution Results Preliminary results 23 redeemed 8 – 90% off 6 – 75% off 7 – 50% off 1 – 25% off 1 – 10% off

Conclusions Consumers are generally positive toward energy- saver bulbs Consumers are generally not aware of energy efficient appliances Education is positively related to a consumers willingness to pay more for energy-saver bulbs Increased knowledge about energy efficiency leads to a willingness to pay more for energy-saver bulbs Income does not effect consumer’s willingness to pay Subsidies to decrease price Increase education

Public Service Announcement (PSA) Lindsley Philbert Electrical Engineer Local consumer answering survey questions

“I purchased four energy- saver bulbs and I saw a big decrease in my electricity bill.” - Castries resident

95,000 tons of oil were imported at a cost of $25 million 30% used to generate electricity¹ Domestic consumption of electricity was 35.7% 3.2% increase from 2004² ¹ Ministry of Physical Development, Environment, and Housing May Saint Lucia Energy Sector Policy and Strategy. ² Ministry of Finance International Financial Services and Economic Affairs Economic and Social Review.

Policy Recommendations Increased Energy Week Publicity School Programs Reduce/eliminate duties and taxes on energy efficient products Subsidize prices of energy efficient products

Future Recommendations Educational workshops with Saint Lucian residents Analysis of available energy efficient appliances and consumer’s knowledge of them

Project Partners Philip McClauren Ministry of Consumer Affairs John Worrell St. Louis Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry Guillaume Simon Ministry of Consumer Affairs Fabian Jules Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry Lindsley Philbert Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Johnson’s Hardware (Castries & Rodney Bay) DuBoulay’s Building Supply (Soufriere) Builder’s Choice Limited (Vieux Fort)

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