The Caribbean Energy Price Index

Energy costs across the Caribbean present a real challenge, being higher than most countries, and varying dramatically. Surprisingly, there was no publicly accessible analysis of Caribbean energy costs, until now. The SOL Ecolution / Marla Dukharan Caribbean Energy Price Index represents the region's first comprehensive benchmark of electricity prices across the Caribbean, demonstrating not just what consumers pay in each country, but how affordable electricity actually is, based on local purchasing power and cost of living. This is critical information for all decision-makers, including consumers, policymakers, businesses and investors.

Understanding electricity affordability means looking beyond nominal prices. Our purchasing power-adjusted index reveals the true financial impact of electricity prices on consumers, demonstrating which countries face the most severe energy cost challenges, and which have benefited from renewable energy adoption, innovation, or other policies that promote affordability.

Electricity costs shape every aspect of Caribbean social and economic outcomes, yet reliable and comparative data has historically been nearly impossible to find - until now.

• There was no regional standard for measuring and comparing electricity rates or costs across the Caribbean, so we created one.
• Purchasing power differences make nominal price comparisons misleading and unreliable for strategic decision-making and policy formulation, so we show the cost of electricity in each country, adjusted for domestic cost of living / purchasing power.

Energy Sovereignty - The Ultimate Panacea Against Petro-political Shocks

Since our inaugural publication of the Caribbean Energy Price Index in January, so much has happened! Driven mainly by the Israeli-US attack on Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices (WTI) almost doubled from roughly USD67.02 per barrel on February 27, 2026 to peak around USD112–USD113 in March and April, before easing to around USD80 per barrel by mid-August.

The IMF reported "Energy efficiency and fuel diversification help cushion the oil shock…the damage will depend largely on how long the disruption lasts."

How long the disruption lasts, and how long it takes us to better insulate ourselves from these inevitable shocks, I would add.

The Caribbean's vulnerability to external shocks stems mainly from our acute openness (dependence on international trade) in general, made worse by the nature of that dependence - on imported food and fuel, most importantly. All the stuff our very existence depends on.

Establishing and maintaining food and fuel security have been strategic goals across Caribbean nations individually and collectively for half a century. At least. Yet here we are, with very little to show for it.

This most recent petro-political crisis, like all of those before it, raises so many longstanding and yet unaddressed issues which continue to hold us back and worsen our quality of life here in the Caribbean. So like victims, we curse the war, and again we lament the disruption, the volatility, the inflation, the vulnerability. We abuse and overuse these terms again. And again. And again.

While some countries pass legislation mandating that rooftops and carparks are covered by solar photovoltaic, here we are. Most countries in the Caribbean are majority powered by imported fossil fuels, and very few of us have met the renewable energy (RE) targets we set for ourselves.

It is worthy of note that while Suriname and Guyana are recognized as carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative, Guyana still imports all of its refined fuel needs. Paradoxically, this has contributed to Guyana's dangerously low foreign exchange reserves, alongside booming crude oil exports and plans underway to install more hydropower.

As discussed in the June 2026 edition of my monthly Caribbean Economic Report :

• we waste 2/3 of the energy we produce globally!
• every $1.00 invested in energy efficiency returns $3 to $5 - where else can you get a 300-500% return on investment?!
• most regional building codes haven't been updated to reflect the energy efficiency benchmarks established by CARICOM since 2019
• homes retrofitted for energy efficiency consume up to 60% less electricity.
• The RE transition is even more urgent now given the July 2025 International Court of Justice ruling on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.

Proper planning and alignment of ALL major stakeholders is absolutely crucial before we go running off and slapping solar on everything that doesn't move. That kind of approach is likely to result in objectives not being met, potentially destabilizing the grid, or worse yet, even more solar electricity capacity going unused as currently seen in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago for example.

How to avoid these undesirable outcomes?

The major stakeholders - the utilities, Governments, Regulators, academia, and consumers - must all be aligned on :

1. the outcomes we are trying to achieve - lower prices, better reliability, lower exposure to petro-political shocks, less foreign exchange lost on imported fuel, and
2. the optimal way forward for the best possible outcomes to be realized, based on the data.

Furthermore, beyond initial alignment, a solid RFP process and active collaboration throughout the project and across all players, even among competitors, will ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved in the specified timeframe.

Uruguay went from "crippling reliance on fossil fuel imports to powering 98% of its electricity with domestic renewables. This swift, state-led shift brought not only energy security, reduced costs, and a more predictable supply, but also supported the emergence of new jobs and industries."

How did Uruguay achieve energy security, in a little over a decade?

1. They built a national consensus - the catalyst for which was the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
2. They had the data - and they used it. "A team at the Universidad de la República used one hundred years of data to develop a sophisticated model that could predict the availability of wind, hydro and solar and would allow the system to be based on the cheapest of these (wind and solar) with hydro filling in when needed without any battery storage."
3. The state did not have the money, so they conducted a competitive bidding process and engaged with private sector players under 20-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to develop the energy sources.

Closer to home, earlier this year Dominica became the second Caribbean country after Guadeloupe, to generate power from domestic geothermal sources. This project had been at least 15 years in the making. According to Dominica News Online "In June 2026, renewable energy accounted for 68% of electricity supplied by DOMLEC, with Geothermal energy contributing 43%, while hydroelectricity provided another 25%."

St. Kitts and Nevis are also exploring geothermal sources of energy and is currently receiving / reviewing bids. This is especially timely as St. Kitts and Nevis now has the 6th most expensive electricity in the region, as discussed below in the index overview.

Beyond energy security, renewable energy can also provide a source of income for countries which produce enough cheap energy for export. Bhutan, the world's first carbon negative country, earns over one-quarter of its annual fiscal budget from hydropower exported to India. Likewise, Dominica plans to export surplus electricity to neighbouring islands in the future.

The Governments who highlight their lack of financial resources to support the RE transition, can first look at their building codes and energy efficiency standards - for themselves as the largest economic actor, but also for the nation more broadly. Recall that 2/3 of all energy produced globally is wasted based on inefficiencies like poor insulation. Governments should also look at the electricity and fuel subsidies (USD7 trillion is spent annually on fuel subsidies globally) that many (not all) engage in - above all else, this is a most perverse incentive, supporting the wastage of energy, and energy inefficient behaviour overall.

The IADB recently discussed the region's energy landscape in their Caribbean Economics Quarterly report, covering The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Their report highlights three crucial policy imperatives; reducing energy costs, achieving energy security, and strengthening regulatory frameworks, all fundamental to our socio-economic success; "access to reliable, low-cost electricity is among the most important drivers of growth and prosperity."

We could not agree more.

The Caribbean Energy Price Index - H2 2026 Update

Here are the major changes to the The Caribbean Energy Price Index in H2 2026, vs the H1 2026 edition:

1. Bonaire now has the highest nominal electricity price in the Caribbean, based on a 30% increase in their variable rate per KWh, plus their fixed cost.
2. NEVELEC reintroduced fuel charges this year, which pushed St. Kitts and Nevis from below the Caribbean average, to the 6th highest electricity prices in the region, also now above the Caribbean average.
3. Many countries increased their fuel surcharges to compensate for higher imported fuel prices, which caused some shifting around on the index.
4. For almost all countries in this index, we have improved our data sources and instead we now use individual local country sources rather than global databases (which tend to only reflect the base rate), and these local data sources will be used for all updates going forward.

You would note from the updated charts below, that on a nominal basis, Bonaire now has the highest cost of electricity in the region, followed by Saba, Bermuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Anguilla.

But when we adjust for purchasing power :

• Bermuda remains at the top with the highest electricity prices in the region.
• The Turks and Caicos islands are still in second place.
• Barbados is still in third place.
• Anguilla overtook The Cayman Islands for fourth place, based on the former's fuel surcharge increasing from XCD0.42 to XCD0.97 (though it was reduced to XCD0.85 a few days ago).
• The Cayman Islands is in 5th place.
• The Bahamas improved from 6th place to 10th place, and is now below the Caribbean average.
• St. Kitts and Nevis moved from below the Caribbean average to above the Caribbean average, with the 6th highest electricity prices in the region, based on NEVELEC fuel charges as discussed earlier.
• For The British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Sint Maarten, we used local data instead of global databases, so the prices reflected now include the surcharges vs only the base rate previously.