Dismantle JPS’s monopoly

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Hurricane Beryl came early in the hurricane season, and it was a blessing in disguise as we experienced electrical power outages nationwide lasting for excessively long periods of time resulting in the loss of many productive hours.

It must be clear to the current Government and those seeking state power that the monopoly of the Jamaica Public Service must be dismantled. I am not sure what would have been the thinking when a government owning 19 per cent of the shares in a company that provides electricity to its citizens agreed to an extended period of monopoly.And this of a company that clearly never cared about the cost of electricity to the average user.

By virtue of its shareholding the government is allowed three representatives at the decision-making table of the electricity provider. Further, the government through an Act of Parliament is in control of the utilities regulator, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), as well as the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) – which to my mind does not have the required resources to advocate – but should still be able to ask questions and get answers from those responsible for the average consumer.

The people of Jamaica must be informed through the state information mechanism that the Jamaica Public Service is not the only generator of electricity in our island. There are, from my investigations, nine other producers of electricity in Jamaica. These are: Wigton Wind Farm, Content Solar, EREC Paradise Solar PV Park, New Fortress Energy, South Jamaica Power Ltd, Jamaica Energy Partners Ltd, West Kingston Power Partners, BMR Energy and Jamaica Private Power Company.

Together these are identified on our electricity bills as IPP (Independent Power Providers) and they utilise a mixture of generation technologies ranging from renewables (solar and wind) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel oil. All the generation technologies cost significantly less than the diesel oil which is obtained from our local oil refinery, Petrojam, which is owned by the government. So the question is why does the government allow the JPS to be exploiting its citizens before and after the passage of Hurricane Beryl ?

Under the Electricity Act 2015, the Independent Power Providers are not allowed to distribute electricity to end users as all they generate must be sold to the Jamaica Public Service for distribution. This must be corrected! The Independent Power Providers were locked out of the distribution of electricity through a collaborative effort including the Jamaica Public Service, the Jamaican Government and yes, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR). This monopoly signed and agreed by the government which allows the JPS to be the sole distributor and transmission of electricity in Jamaica must be dismantled and destroyed.

HOWARD D HAMILTON JP

Independent Mayoral

Caretaker

Portmore, St Catherine