The Dominica parliament has approved legislation allowing for the liberalization of the energy sector even though the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) warned that the new act was a recipe for disaster.

Energy Minister Reginald Austrie said the Electricity Supply Act of 2006 would also establish an independent regulator commission that would be responsible for setting rates and regulate all stakeholders within the industry.

He said the legislation would also allow Dominica to provide other options to investors in the energy sector, adding “to get anybody in here we have to break the monopoly” now enjoyed by the Dominica Electricity Corporation (DOMLEC).

Austrie said that the island would also explore wind energy and that “I have been invited to Guadeloupe to see the commissioning of a new wind farm”.

“We have more wind than Guadeloupe yet still DOMLEC refuses to pay any serious investment in wind.”

Austrie said that while the Venezuelan oil initiative program, PetroCaribe, would take care of the short-term reduction in fuel prices, the new act would ensure that in the longer term.

But Opposition Leader Edison James has criticized the new legislation saying it would not lead to a reduction of tariffs and guarantee a reliable supply of electricity.