Kingston, Jamaica - Wilford 'Billy' Heaven, the president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), said he has been assured that the state-of-the-art floodlights at Sabina Park will consume electrical power efficiently, thus minimising the burdensome charges of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS Co).
The freshly installed lights were commissioned on Sunday, and Heaven, defending the absence of the use of solar technology to illuminate the ground, argued that in the short term, Sabina Park Holdings, the entity responsible for the cricket venue and its facilities, was forced to connect to the power company's grid.
"We are connected to the JPS Co grid, but my understanding from the technical people is that the technology that we use [for the lights] is more efficient, which is not unusual. Technology advances by the day so you get a more efficient system that will help you to use less energy," Heaven told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.
"Outside of that, we also have two generators which we can also use to provide the current that is needed to support the lights," he continued, though not providing the cost of operating the generators.
He explained that based on what he has been told, the Sabina lights would be more efficient than the less modern ones installed at the National Stadium.
Heaven said the switch to solar energy is "one of the long-term plans" in the pipeline, but added that the high cost associated with its implementation means stakeholders have taken "one step at a time".
Heaven could not put a figure on how much the installation of solar panels to power the four light towers at Sabina Park would cost; however, it is understood that such a project could cost several million Jamaican dollars.
The lighting project was funded by a US$2.1-million grant from the government of India and a further US$600,000 contribution from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).
Given the exorbitant and ever-swelling cost of electricity in Jamaica, the JCA boss was asked to estimate what the monthly JPS bill for the lights could look like when the park is used for night events.
"At this point, we are not sure because we don't have the benefit of the use of the light to measure the cost associated with it, especially on a per-hour basis. I would have to wait until some trend is developed, whether per event or per month," Heaven answered.
Outside of the playing of night cricket, the installation of lights is intended to allow for the staging of various events at Sabina Park. Heaven, who also heads the state-run CHASE Fund, reasoned that some events may not require the lights to be on full blast, therefore lessening the power usage.
"It is not every event that will require the full beaming of the lights. There are three levels of illumination, and for particular events we may only need a lower level."
Earning revenue from turning on the lights is also a major focus.
"We have to justify the outlay, so remember that when the lights are turned on they are turned on in support of an event. We intend to have commercial events where we expect to get an income, as well, from that. We expect to cover cost and to have a profit margin from it," the local cricket president insisted.
For cricket, he boasted that the lights have met International Cricket Council (ICC) standards.
"It would be full activation for cricket and my understanding from the technical people is that the brightness would be 95 per cent of what we see at daylight. So the ICC standards are satisfied and also the television requirements," he added.
First Published In The Jamaica Observer.
