With Venezuela facing tough economic times, Caribbean leaders head to Washington for energy talk

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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article8110812.html

PORT-AU-PRINCE —

With global crude prices falling and their biggest oil supplier — PetroCaribe — on life support amid Venezuela’s tough economic times, Caribbean leaders will participate in closed talks Monday in Washington with Vice President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials at the first Caribbean Energy Summit.

The summit comes as both the United States and Trinidad and Tobago seek to be help the Caribbean where concerns are increasingly growing over the high cost of diesel-fueled electricity, and the effect of Venezuela’s economic woes on the PetroCaribe deferred oil payment program. The arrangement allows regional governments to receive oil at a discount, and invest the savings on social and infrastructure programs.
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For months, however, Venezuela has been cutting oil exports to some of its 13 beneficiaries leaving governments in a panic.While Haiti says it hasn't suffered any, ?private companies have had to order additional fuel on the spot market. Haiti subsidizes its state-owned electricity company, EDH, to the tune of about $200 million a year.


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Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, Farnsworth said, is cleaner than the current fuel most Caribbean nations get from Venezuela, and cheaper due to new technologies and increased production in the United States.

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