 My fellow consumers, we are here once again to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day. Annually on March 15th, consumer agencies across the globe stand in solidarity to speak on issues of interest to consumers. The theme for this year is empowering consumers through clean energy transitions. Customarily, this film is set by Consumers International. Consumers International is the largest international non-governmental agency that has been championing the cause for consumers globally. With its membership throughout the length and breadth of the world, clean energy transition is now a household factor given the economic, global and climate trends challenging all nations. The alarming cost of production of goods and energy is a major concern to the economic landscape for our fair helen and the survival of its people. Solutions and the world at large are reminded of the need to continue to strive to achieve the sustainable development goals. Number 7, which is affordable and clean energy. Number 14, climate action. Highlighting some of the areas that are impacting consumers positively or negatively, whilst calling on consumers, businesses and governments in the tripod relationship to introduce measures that will facilitate the achievement of the above. The Russia-Ukraine crisis, global supply chain disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to all price volatility, significantly increasing energy costs and uncertainty of supplies of goods and household commodities. It is therefore imperative that St. Lucia transitions its energy sector to a more sustainable path. So what are some of the policy interventions to facilitate clean energy transitions? My government recently endorsed St. Lucia's National Energy Transition Strategy, the NETS, an integrated resource plan which was developed through a consultative and participatory process led by the government of St. Lucia and Nusilek with the technical assistance from friendly donor agencies and governments. It consists a roadmap for achieving greater renewable energy penetration within our energy mix while pursuing energy efficiencies with three central principles. Service reliability, which is achieving lower than historical outage, duration and frequency. Cost containment, reduce consumer costs and reduce impact of fuel volatility to ensure financial viability of utilities. And thirdly, energy independence. Achieve renewable energy targets by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and achieve increased energy diversity. The National Energy Transition Strategy results indicate that St. Lucia should develop energy efficiency through solar, wind and energy storage projects. As well as geothermal if the resource proves to be commercially viable. Work on finalizing the electricity bill is very advanced and it is anticipated that the bill and supporting regulations will be ready for public consultation within a month or two. This will also be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers thereafter. The electricity bill reflects the government's intent to restructure the institutional framework that governs the electricity sector in order to achieve stability in electricity prices and overall sustainability of the energy sector. A key aspect of this draft legislation is the provision which allows for the entry of independent power producers on St. Lucia's energy market while clarifying the authority and function of the National Utility Regulatory Commission with regard to regulatory oversight of the electricity sector. I am pleased to report that in 2022, street lighting consumption fell for the third consecutive year to 9.2 million kilowatts in 9.65% decline from 2021. This was due significantly to increase LED bulbs replacement for street lighting. I take this opportunity to encourage consumers to transition to LED bulbs and you will reap similar reductions in electricity consumption and cost. There are some projects that I would like to highlight. Energy efficiency and renewable energy in government buildings. Under the NDC support facility, the government was able to conduct energy audits on 34 government buildings. Administrative buildings, medical facilities, operating facilities and schools were assessed. The assessment provided opportunities for savings through energy efficiency investments and distributed solar PV to displace consumption from the grid. The results will be used to structure an investment project with the World Bank to address energy efficiency. Under the cooperatives sector, I am happy to inform that three Fisher cooperatives have already commenced transitioning to solar energy. The other five cooperatives are in the process of meeting the prerequisites to facilitate conversion. Under the area of total distributed generated on the solar, St. Lucia records almost two megawatts of grid side distributed solar PV systems comprising 197 systems on residential and commercial buildings. This shows an increase in the number of interconnected systems of 13% over the past year. This is encouraging but there is still scope for more consumers to make that switch and my government will work tirelessly to facilitate this transition. As I close, allow me the privilege to extend continued support and encouragement to all related government, commercial, private and international organizations assisting in empowering consumers by creating this enabling environment for clean energy transition. Fellow consumers, don't miss out. Be empowered through clean energy transition. Happy World Consumer Rights Day 2023.