Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
The Cabinet will on Monday consider whether it will continue its appeal of the court ruling against the monopoly licence for electricity transmission and distribution granted to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).
The parliamentary opposition has said Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell should resign given that the appeal contradicts his previous statements that he is in support of an end to the monopoly.
But Paulwell says the Government has not made a decision to appeal the ruling.
He said the attorney general went ahead and filed the application because the time within which to do so was running out.
This means if the Cabinet decides against pursuing the appeal, the application would be withdrawn.
Under the court rules, unsuccessful parties have 42 days from the handing down of a judgment in the Supreme Court within which to file an appeal.
The Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the JPS class action suit on July 30.
Asked why the Government did not make a decision earlier about whether it would appeal, Paulwell said the matter had not arisen because of several pressing issues.
Meanwhile, the energy minister insists that his utterances on the matter since the Supreme Court ruling have been careful.
He adds that he and the Cabinet are on the same page regarding promoting competition in the transmission and distribution of electricity.
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