Whatever else might have been the relevance of Venezuela‘s presidential election to Jamaica, the most immediate concern for Kingston was the future of the PetroCaribe energy agreement.
It is little wonder, therefore, that our Government – particularly the energy minister, Mr Phillip Paulwell – has hardly masked its glee at President
Here’s a surprising new fact about energy in the United States: the percentage of our electricity coming from the greenest sources JAMAICA Public Service Company’s President & Chief Executive, Kelly Tomblin, has announced the appointment of 15 new parish managers as part of her efforts to transform the light and power company into a more customer-centred organisation. The parish manager appointments form part of a comprehensive organisational restructuring currently in progress at JPS. “We are changing the way we serve our customers,” Tomblin said in a statement issued by the island’s major electricity provider yesterday. “We are decentralising our operations, so that decisions about serving our customers in the parishes no longer need to be made at the head office. Our aim is to create a more personal connection with our customers, so we are strengthening our service delivery capabilities at the local level.” In this regard, JPS has also appointed three new directors who will have oversight for its regional operations. Omar Sweeney, who was most recently at the Planning Institute of Jamaica, will be responsible for JPS’ Eastern region; Keith Garvey, previously general manager of the Rural Electrification Programme (REP), is JPS’s new director of Region South; and Blaine Jarrett, previously director of transmission services at JPS, will now head the company’s Western operations. In addition to two of its new regional directors, almost half of the newly appointed parish managers are from outside of the company. “The recruitment of business executives and professionals from outside the organisation is the first phase of our organisational transformation,” Tomblin said. “We are excited about the new direction that JPS is taking, and the value and new perspectives that these new executives will bring. Our customers will definitely be seeing and feeling the new JPS before long,” she said. Read more: THE EDITOR, Sir: I applaud the Government, any government, for having the vision to seek out new approaches and modalities in attempting to address the myriad challenges we face as a growing nation. I am, however, puzzled that it took us spending all of US$2.8 million (J$252 million at today’s rates) to learn that, according to Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is not feasible! My problem with all this is, had these politicians been running their own businesses, would they be prepared to expend all those resources to come up with such results? I think not. Over and over we see this trend in Jamaica where one government starts a project with significant outlay of public funds (usually borrowed money), only to see a succeeding administration shelve or abandon it, with little regard for the expenditures already incurred. And we wonder why we are carrying such a burdensome debt load with little to show for it? We must demand an immediate accounting and disclosure to the nation of the J$252-million expenditure on this LNG project. Nothing less will suffice. When I think of the number of rural roads that could be fixed, toilets that could be placed in rural schools to expose children to 20th-century sanitary conveniences, or school furniture that could be repaired in order to provide basic comfort to our children in the learning environment, it pains my heart deeply. But what hurts even more is that these same children will be forced to help repay this borrowed money later, despite not enjoying any benefit from its expenditure. CARL BLISS cabliss@flowja.com Read more : Key players in the private sector have signalled that they want to be given a role in the new arrangement for the establishment of ENERGY Minister Phillip Paulwell says that the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) will now be responsible for sourcing the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) needed to fuel its new generation plant. “We are very confident that with the tremendous international reach that Marubeni and East West Power (JPSCo parent company) have, they are quite capable of doing this on their own,” Paulwell told journalists at yesterday’s Jamaica House press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston. He said the recent discussions in Japan resolved that JPSCo would be fully responsible for ensuring that the generation plant is properly fuelled. He explained that the light and power company received a licence last year to establish 360 megawatts of new generation driven by natural gas. However, he said that the Government interceded and attempted to get the fuel to the plant by way of FSRU pipeline and LNG supply. “JPSCo has now accepted full responsibility for that,” he declared. As to concerns that JPSCo could be forced to use diesel if it is unable to source LNG, resulting in higher electricity costs, Paulwell said the issue was raised in the discussions. “The intention now… is from day one that gas will be the fuel that will be used at this plant and the only time we should contemplate using diesel is in the event of a hurricane when you have to move out the FSRU unit for a couple days,” he said, adding that this has been accepted by JPSCo. In relation to JPSCo’s guarantee that using LNG will result in lower electricity costs for consumers, Paulwell said that the Government MONTEGO BAY, St James – TOURISM and Entertainment Minister Wykeham McNeill has challenged stakeholders in the sector to augment alternative energy supply sources and expand the use of supporting energy in a collaborative effort to keep the industry buoyant. “As a sector, I am encouraging all our tourism partners to do what you can incrementally and over time to expand your energy options and increase your use of sustainable energy,” McNeill charged. “I want to encourage our tourism sector partners to seriously explore the use of alternative and sustainable energy sources, in our collective efforts towards the future sustainability of the tourism industry“. Meanwhile, former President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Wayne Cummings noted that for a downward trend in energy costs to be realised, an energy policy would have to be written, “agreed to, and we all stick to it”. “So we need to figure it out and make it known to everybody,” Cummings argued. Cummings, who is also the Sandals Resorts International (SRI) director of administrator and business processes, was speaking during a World Tourism Day Luncheon held at the Sandals Montego Hotel, where McNeill, Junior Minister in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment Damion Crawford and other tourism officials, were in attendance. Prior to the luncheon, the party toured a villa at the resort in which suites are fully powered by solar technology, allowing for the harnessing and storing of energy to power sections of the resort’s operation, through a pilot project undertaken jointly with Panasonic. Paul Grey, head of ATL Energy and Engineering, said with the US$100,000 investment, savings of up to US$120,000 could be realised within a decade. In the meantime, conceding that the cost of establishing alternative energy sources will be costly at the beginning, the tourism and entertainment minister also underscored the need to retrofit, among other solutions. “We have entities of varying sizes and I realise the initial costs involved may seem daunting, but it may be that you need to retrofit your bulbs, install solar panels, implement waste water management systems plus a myriad of other solutions,” McNeill noted. He further noted that energy strategies should form a major plank of each entity’s Environmental Management Policy. “So today (Thursday) is a good time to once again seriously consider plans to implement energy solutions in a manageable form that will allow you to monitor the performance and provide real readings on the effect on your bottom line,” McNeill remarked. “Let each and every one of us play our part in ‘Powering Sustainable Development‘ to the benefit of our sector, our society and nation at large”. Read more: The Government, or elements thereof, apparently felt it to be smart politics to allow weeks of confusion and speculation about liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Jamaica’s energy future. Such uncertainty, this mode of political communication presumes, dampens expectations and softens up the public for accepting less than what was initially promised. So, the Government has announced that it isn’t abandoning natural gas, only that its introduction will now be driven by the light-and-power company, Jamaica Public Service (JPS). JPS will build its planned 360-megawatt gas-fired power plant and promote an LNG storage and regasification facility as well as procure the LNG. Essentially, having deemed Samsung’s bid for the LNG project would not cut the price of energy deeply enough to make a substantial difference to the Jamaican economy, the Government has withdrawn itself from promoting the venture. The Government could have avoided the drama of recent weeks by being open and frank with the Jamaican people. We, however, have no fundamental problem with the new strategy. Maybe if the Government gets itself out of the way, then something positive will happen for energy, giving the economy a fighting chance. Our broad support notwithstanding, we believe that there remain areas for clarification in Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell’s statement which, unfortunately, were not tested by MPs after his presentation to Parliament on Tuesday. The first, and most apparent, of these is the scope of the project for the LNG to be promoted by JPS and its parent firms, Japan’s Samsung and East West Power of South Korea. The original project on which the Government invited bids was for an LNG facility to handle 800,000 tonnes of fuel a year. Of this amount, JPS’s requirement would be around 250,000 tonnes, or 31 per cent. The other presumed offtakers would be the alumina refiner Jamalco, with 350,000 tonnes or approximately 44 per cent of the total volume, and Jamaica Private Power, with 200,000 tonnes or 25 per cent. It was on these volumes, and acquisition of LNG at an appropriate price point, that the widely anticipated 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the cost of energy was predicated. Minister Paulwell said it will be delivered. No strong commitment However, with a project delivery deadline of 2015, we do not have the sense that there is any firm commitment by Alcoa to a deal with JPS, or that there is yet any substantial discussion between the parties. Jamalco, 55 per cent owned by Aloca, operates in a very competitive global market where Jamaica is in the second half of the efficiency table of alumina refiners. Alcoa has insisted on very specific price benchmarks if it is to join the LNG pool. An obvious question, therefore, is what would happen to the project if an offtaker representing nearly half of the LNG requirement was not on board. This would seem to have implications for the price at which energy would be delivered. Further, Mr Paulwell appears to have not much more than verbal undertakings from JPS to undertake the project and lower the price of electricity by at least 30 per cent. At some point, this will be put in writing. But the minister suggested that regulatory oversight by the Office of Utility Regulations will not extend to pricing. That demands clarification. It would make sense if, at this stage, the Government publish all the documentation on the LNG project. The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published. Read more:
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) Director of Administrator and Business Processes, Wayne Cummings (left) and Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill are locked in discussion following World Tourism Day Luncheon held at Sandals Montego Hotel, last week. (Photo: Kenroy Pringle)