PRIVATE Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President Christopher Zacca says the body is “extremely disappointed” by another delay in the Office of Utilities Regulation’s (OUR) decision on the award of the 360 megawatt energy project.
“Quite frankly, the PSOJ is concerned that we will miss the 2015 deadline for the introduction of new generation and we simply cannot afford to,” Zacca told Monday night‘s installation ceremony of the Rotary Club of St Andrew North at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.
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ZACCA
ENERGY Minister Phillip Paulwell said the new Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), which was yesterday introduced to the Jamaican market, is essential in preserving diesel engines with advanced emission controls as well as protecting the environment. “The ULSD is expected to preserve our environment and make our vehicles last longer as sulphur contains pollutants. So lower sulphur means less exhaust and cleaner air,” Paulwell told the audience at the special ceremony to launch the fuel at Petcom Dunrobin service station in St Andrew. “A number of our SUVs have the advance emission controls, so the introduction of the fuel makes the cost of performance cheaper and mileage good.”
According to Paulwell, the introduction of ULSD is a component of plans to improve the quality of fuel produced and expansion of the Petrojam oil refinery. “The production is in sync with the refinery expansion from 30,000 barrels per day to 50,000. The upgrade will enable us to improve our liquid petroleum gas, E-10 gasoline, automotive diesel oil, and jet/turbo fuel,” he said. Paulwell said manufacturers of diesel vehicles with advanced emission controls had refused to sell to car dealers in Jamaica as the fuel was not compatible with the new model vehicles. The new fuel, with a sulphur content of 15 parts per million, is expected to improve mileage on vehicles and be more beneficial to the environment. It will also see a reduction in exhaust smoke, sulphur emissions, and exhaust odour. Telroy Morgan, Petrojam’s production manager, told the Jamaica Observer that $120 per litre diesel is in accordance with the refinery’s pricing policy. “The ULSD will be sold at 10 per cent above the cost of regular diesel. The price is higher but efficiency is greater,” he said. Wayne Boothe, managing director of Petcom Dunrobin, expressed his gratitude to Petrojam. “The good thing is motorists were the ones who demanded this because of the effect it has on engines. The diesel is clean and it is better for our health, so I expect a great turnout throughout the week from motorists,” he said. The ULSD will have a light yellow [straw] colour, while the regular diesel will have a red colour to enable differentiation between the two fuels. As similar launch was held at Shell Gore Terrace in St Andrew. Read more:
ENERGY Minister Phillip Paulwell said the new Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), which was yesterday introduced to the Jamaican market, is essential in preserving diesel engines with advanced emission controls as well as protecting the environment. “The ULSD is expected to preserve our environment and make our vehicles last longer as sulphur contains pollutants. So lower sulphur means less exhaust and cleaner air,” Paulwell told the audience at the special ceremony to launch the fuel at Petcom Dunrobin service station in St Andrew. “A number of our SUVs have the advance emission controls, so the introduction of the fuel makes the cost of performance cheaper and mileage good.”
According to Paulwell, the introduction of ULSD is a component of plans to improve the quality of fuel produced and expansion of the Petrojam oil refinery. “The production is in sync with the refinery expansion from 30,000 barrels per day to 50,000. The upgrade will enable us to improve our liquid petroleum gas, E-10 gasoline, automotive diesel oil, and jet/turbo fuel,” he said. Paulwell said manufacturers of diesel vehicles with advanced emission controls had refused to sell to car dealers in Jamaica as the fuel was not compatible with the new model vehicles. The new fuel, with a sulphur content of 15 parts per million, is expected to improve mileage on vehicles and be more beneficial to the environment. It will also see a reduction in exhaust smoke, sulphur emissions, and exhaust odour. Telroy Morgan, Petrojam’s production manager, told the Jamaica Observer that $120 per litre diesel is in accordance with the refinery’s pricing policy. “The ULSD will be sold at 10 per cent above the cost of regular diesel. The price is higher but efficiency is greater,” he said. Wayne Boothe, managing director of Petcom Dunrobin, expressed his gratitude to Petrojam. “The good thing is motorists were the ones who demanded this because of the effect it has on engines. The diesel is clean and it is better for our health, so I expect a great turnout throughout the week from motorists,” he said. The ULSD will have a light yellow [straw] colour, while the regular diesel will have a red colour to enable differentiation between the two fuels. As similar launch was held at Shell Gore Terrace in St Andrew. Read more:
KINGSTON, Jamaica
IMF Letter of Intent for Jamaica, April 2013 Renewable Energy exerpts extracted from: Jamaica: Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding The following item is a Letter of Intent of the government of Jamaica, which GROWTH STRATEGY Labour Market Interventions and Reform Strategic Investments 4 With regard to the promotion of renewable energy, the JPS All Island Promote liberalization in delivery through continued efforts to facilitate distributed 6 Complete document: 
THE EDITOR, Sir: This is an open letter to Local Government Minister Noel Arscott. I read of your plans to reduce our street-light bill by $1 billion, and I support your effort. I remind you that under our two recent political regimes, much work was put into establishing and documenting a memorandum of understanding between the local authorities and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to govern the method of charging for street-light service. The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) was the facilitator, and the Association of Local Government Authorities (ALGA) represented the parish councils in the negotiations. I suppose JPS would not be averse to you starting all over again, since that would allow them to continue overcharging us. Minister, the OUR, along with the JPS and surely ALGA, has much information on the way forward. You don’t even have to go that far, as the real workers in your ministry who were party to the deliberations would also have the information. The document was awaiting the signature of JPS or the ruling of the OUR, and you should be able to bring about a final position shortly. Please pursue this matter for us, the payers of property tax. MILTON C. BROWN Former President, ALGA Read more:
THE EDITOR, Sir: This is an open letter to Local Government Minister Noel Arscott. I read of your plans to reduce our street-light bill by $1 billion, and I support your effort. I remind you that under our two recent political regimes, much work was put into establishing and documenting a memorandum of understanding between the local authorities and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to govern the method of charging for street-light service. The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) was the facilitator, and the Association of Local Government Authorities (ALGA) represented the parish councils in the negotiations. I suppose JPS would not be averse to you starting all over again, since that would allow them to continue overcharging us. Minister, the OUR, along with the JPS and surely ALGA, has much information on the way forward. You don’t even have to go that far, as the real workers in your ministry who were party to the deliberations would also have the information. The document was awaiting the signature of JPS or the ruling of the OUR, and you should be able to bring about a final position shortly. Please pursue this matter for us, the payers of property tax. MILTON C. BROWN Former President, ALGA Read more:
The Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) yesterday gave energy firms more than one month’s extension to July 29 to submit final proposals for the 360-megawatt project. The original date was June 17 for the companies vying for the project, including Armorview Holdings, Azurest-Cambridge, Energy World International Limited, the Jamaica Public Service Company and Optimal Energy. The OUR is also extending the time frame to select the highest ranked entities from July 12 to August 29. The agency will subsequently finalise negotiation of the project agreements by November 21. Construction of the plant is expected to begin January 20, 2014, while commissioning of the new capacity is set for two years later on January 2016. The 360MW project, which is expected to introduce LNG to the fuel, is the primary means by which Government plans to slash energy costs by about one-third. In the process, it will replace old generating units, some of which were commissioned four decades ago. business@gleanerjm.com Read more:
The Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) yesterday gave energy firms more than one month’s extension to July 29 to submit final proposals for the 360-megawatt project. The original date was June 17 for the companies vying for the project, including Armorview Holdings, Azurest-Cambridge, Energy World International Limited, the Jamaica Public Service Company and Optimal Energy. The OUR is also extending the time frame to select the highest ranked entities from July 12 to August 29. The agency will subsequently finalise negotiation of the project agreements by November 21. Construction of the plant is expected to begin January 20, 2014, while commissioning of the new capacity is set for two years later on January 2016. The 360MW project, which is expected to introduce LNG to the fuel, is the primary means by which Government plans to slash energy costs by about one-third. In the process, it will replace old generating units, some of which were commissioned four decades ago. business@gleanerjm.com Read more:
Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), which holds 40 per cent interest in the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported a 3.4 per cent increase in the book value of its investment in the utility to 303 billion won (US$267 million) in its March 2013 financials. It indicates that JPS continues to provide value for its shareholders despite its March 2013 quarterly loss totalling some US$789,000, of which 40 per cent represented Kepco’s share of the loss. Kepco is a subsidiary of Korea East-West Power. The rise in the book value was caused by a 17-billion won (US$15-million) increase in ‘other comprehensive income‘ which represents certain gains not reflected in the profit and loss account. The financials posted to the US Securities and Exchange did not disclose the nature of the gains. Kepco acquired JPS shares in 2011 for 301.9 billion won. Last financial year, the Korean company earned US$2 million in dividends from its JPS investment. The utility paid out a total of US$5 million in dividends last year. For the three months ending March 2013, the company took no dividends, according to the financials. The profitability of JPS, one of the largest companies in Jamaica, was affected by higher-than-usual finance costs at US$17 million for the quarter (US$11 million a year earlier) which nearly ate through the US$18 million of gross profit. JPS’s other top owners are Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, at 40 per cent, and the Government of Jamaica, which holds 19.9 per cent. The power utility currently earns US$1.14 billion (J$112b) of revenue annually as the monopoly distributor of electricity. It is capitalised at US$378.77 million (J$37.5b) while its net assets amount to US$838.46 million (J$83b). business@gleanerjm.com Read more: |