OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2016. Suriname will increase the efficiency, transparency, sustainability and accountability of its energy sector, supported by a \\$70 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It will be able to provide more reliable and sustainable energy to its citizens, and in the process, will both improve the supply of electricity and foster the reduction in its reliance on fossil fuels.

Given the absence of an integrated legal and regulatory framework, Suriname has experienced significant challenges with respect to effectively managing the energy sector and ensuring the reliable provision of electricity. Surinamese government agency roles and responsibilities needed to be defined with a strategy as to how to implement the required investments in the energy sector, including least-cost expansion planning, in order to improve the outdated and stressed power infrastructure.

The IDB loan is the third in a programmatic policy-based series of independently and technically connected loans to strengthen the country’s electricity sector. The operation will consolidate the support for regulatory policy reforms and sector decisions envisioned in the program, including the approval of a sector policy with an accompanying legal and institutional framework, the introduction of cost-recovery principles in the commercial management of N.V. Energie Bedrijven Suriname (EBS), and improvements in the utility’s corporate management and governance.

The project will increase Suriname’s technical capacity to implement a sustainable power sector framework, which will facilitate the execution of an Electricity Sector Plan that will include a coordinated strategy for the sustainable and efficient development of the power sector. The loan also fosters the inclusion of environmental and social sustainability principles within the power sector’s expansion projects; this action will contribute to minimize potential environmental impacts.

About the IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.