The path to a cleaner energy supply at a lower cost to the consumer could begin soon with “smart meters” for every home in Bermuda, together with conservation education.

But it won’t come until Belco and government strike a deal determining how the bill for the programmes — including a $100-million solar water heating scheme — will be paid.

A smart meter is an electronic device that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes. Smart meters also enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system.

Relatedly, Belco believes that conservation thinking can be institutionalised at home and at work, bringing huge savings to customers, and reducing the load on the electricity plant.

Not far behind, perhaps within eight months, is the installation of solar water heaters possibly as early as this coming winter.

Belco would work with existing solar power contractors to install the units — at a cost of about $10,000 each — and strike a deal with owners to credit them for their contributions to the power supply grid.

Walter M. Higgins, President and CEO of Belco parent company, Ascendant Group Limited, conceded, “Most people wouldn’t put solar panels on their roof — not because they don’t want them, but because they don’t want to pay for them.

“We would hire solar contractors and deal with homeowners about how they would be compensated.

“We would ensure the installation is done to a standard, meeting all the requirements for safety and structural integrity in a storm. We think there are a lot of jobs that can be created, installing a thousand solar water heaters a year.

“There are about 10,000 roofs in Bermuda that have very efficient orientation. They face the south, which is much better for generating power from the sun, and they are not being blocked by neighbours or anything else.

“We can put up solar water heaters and maybe a little solar photo voltaic. We can do that for about $10,000 a house. We would do 1,000 a year and spend about $10 million a year. Over ten years, that is 10,000 little power plants for $100 million.

“But that’s not a lot of money compared to the $3 billion we would spend burning oil and running the power plants the way we are doing it now, over the same 10 years.

“With the conservation measures, it is the same idea — savings of five or ten million dollars a year over time makes a lot of difference.

“And you don’t have to get much in efficiencies. If you just get half a percent reduction a year, it amounts to seven percent reduced electricity use after ten years. That’s better for the Island. That’s seven percent less oil or natural gas that is burned.

“Those two measures can start as soon as we have a deal with the government.

“All it takes to get going on conservation and deployment of solar roof top water heating systems is for the company and the government to agree on how we are going to collect the cost of paying for it. We will need to recoup our costs.”

Asked about the need to change people’s attitudes to take advantage of the conservation initiative, Mr. Higgins pointed out: “People can be told to conserve, and some will. But most won’t. And for starters, they don’t know how to do it. They have a lifestyle. They have an infrastructure. They have a household.

“You need to help them. There are things that we can do to help.

“With their permission, there are things that we can do with qualified professionals, that would help residential and commercial customers see how they can use less and save more.”

With regard to other alternative energy sources, he said it was surprising but true that wind energy has little, if any, practical application in Bermuda.

“Not one wind developer has ever called me to talk about how we could deploy wind in Bermuda,” he said. “There are no government subsidies for it, like in the US, and we don’t have the wind velocities and durations that you would in West Texas or the Dakotas.

“Ocean energy is still pretty developmental in terms of its commercial viability. But the day may come when we have some wave energy devices here.”