The Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association, JGRA, says as much as 6 dollars could be shaved off
With high light bills, constantly increasing petrol prices, the promise of the PNP last year to remove the GCT component on JPS bills, Petrojam refusing to divulge the money value of the materials after processing one barrel of oil and claiming
Weeks after stakeholders in the petroleum sector met with energy minister, Phillip Paulwell, he is yet to respond to their proposals for reducing
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says consumers will have to wait until the budget is presented, before knowing what, if any decision has been made to cap the gas tax to bring ease to consumers.
The state-owned oil refinery Petrojam has dismissed claims that it obtains crude oil at discounted prices under the PetroCaribe agreement with Venezuela but does not pass on the lower costs to consumers.
“It is not at a discount to Petrojam,” the refinery’s general manager, Winston Watson, declared at last week’s energy meeting at the refinery complex in Kingston.
There is he said a lot of misinformation and misdirected facts in the marketplace.
“We buy the crude oil from Venezuela at a competitive
MINISTER of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell is seeking to reassure the nation that
SOLAR power has finally become a viable option, driven by falling prices for photovoltaic panels and the soaring cost of oil, say proponents of the alternative energy.
Rooftop panels, which could last for 25 to 30 years, will now pay for themselves in just six or seven years, claim advocates. Until recently, the pay-back period was up to 20 years.
The cost of solar cells has fallen by as much as 49.5 per cent since the start of 2011, according to the PVX spot market index, which tracks the monthly wholesale costs of the industry.
HIGH gas prices forced many Jamaicans to change their travel plans for the Easter holiday weekend.
A Jamaica Observer online poll shows that seven in 10 persons altered plans this weekend because of fuel costs. Almost 50 per cent of respondents say gas prices completely curtailed planned activities, nearly a third claim it was “somewhat influential” while just over a fourth boasts that their plans were not impacted at all.
The Easter holiday weekend kicked off on Good Friday and runs up to Easter Monday. Many Jamaicans traditionally travel to visit family and friends out of town or flock to parties in resort areas such as Ocho Rios and Negril. But record-high petroleum prices this year have threatened celebrations, with refinery prices for e10 87 and e10 90 gasoline having both risen by more than $13 a litre since the start of the year.
Taneisha Lewis, a public relations officer based in Kingston, shelved her usual holiday weekend plans because of high gas prices.
“Well, it has ruined it. I had to cancel my plan to visit family out of town,” she told Sunday Finance.
Lewis opted to “stay home and watch TV” instead of taking the costly journey in her sedan to see her relatives on the north coast.
The travel plans of St Catherine-based teacher Luther Davis suffered a similar setback. Davis, his wife and two children would usually take a ride in his station wagon to visit family in western Jamaica over the Easter weekend, but those plans were cancelled because of high fuel costs, he said.
“Gas prices have been impacting my life significantly, I would say, over the past year,” revealed Davis.
The teacher disclosed that the family has had to cut back on travelling by car significantly because of the rising petrol prices. He highlighted specifically that he no longer provides a lift by car to his wife