Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Julian Robinson is set to leave the island today, to take part in a renewable energy Summit in the Republic of Malta.
He will be Jamaica
A lockdown of the local petroleum sector is looming as furious industry stakeholders intensify calls for Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell to intervene and plug gaping holes which they say are making their survival increasingly difficult.
The peeved stakeholders include petroleum tanker drivers, haulage contractors and service station operators, all of whom point fingers at petroleum marketing companies, which they claim are walking away with huge profits while the rest of the sector struggles as a result of policies they have imposed.
It is against this background that the stakeholders are joining forces to lobby the Government to introduce legislation which they feel will create a level playing field.
Their concerns have heightened in the wake of recent moves by one marketing company to terminate the contracts of several service stations which reportedly failed to meet performance targets it had set.
The threats of closure sent shockwaves through the petroleum retail sector and resulted in several meetings involving the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA). Out of those discussions came plans to implement a wide range of cost-cutting measures in order for them to remain afloat. The termination of the jobs of scores of pump attendants and other workers was among them.
It is a last resort for JGRA President Trevor Heaven, but he said it will be inevitable if the Government fails to address serious anomalies relating to the policies of the marketing companies.
“We don’t want to raise prices; in fact, we can’t. And we don’t want to dislocate our employees, but we need equitable margins to take into account factors such as shrinkage (evaporation of a portion of the product),” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Shrinkage, according to one industry expert, normally occurs in the transportation of fuel from one location to another, or in the process of filling up at service stations.
Another issue with which the sector grapples, added Heaven, was that service station operators who lease properties from marketing companies, and who seek to diversify their income, are faced with strong resistance.
“The marketers should allow retailers to use the facilities to explore other income-generating activities. The moment you decide to go into a tyre sale venture or any other service on the property, you are told how much you will need to pay,” Heaven said, describing the lease agreements as onerous.
“We have never seen this level of fallout before, and it speaks to the fact that the business itself is becoming more and more challenging,” said Heaven, who told the Observer that he would be meeting with other aggrieved stakeholders before approaching the energy minister.
For Corporate Area service station operator Dwight Moore, the blame lays at the feet of successive political administrations which have failed to nip the problem in the bud by introducing legislation to level the playing field.
“We want a win-win situation, because we understand that they (the marketing companies) made an investment when they decided to come to Jamaica, and we fully appreciate the need for them to capitalise on that investment. However, the existing legislation favours them, as they are able to set margins without sharing any of their benefits with service station operators. We get the product at near commercial rates and then have to resell, despite us bearing the brunt of costs associated with product shrinkage, security, etc. These costs erode what you make on the product. What we need is equity,” Moore declared.
Despite several efforts, the Observer was unable to speak with representatives of two of the major marketing companies operating in the country.
Energy Minister Paulwell was also unavailable as he was said to be off the island. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining acknowledged that the ministry was aware of the charges against the marketing companies.
According to the officer, a comprehensive review of the local petroleum retail sector has been completed, and will lead to a raft of changes relating to issues such as safety, transparency and competitiveness.
The technocrat explained that the measures will also result in the creation of a level playing field for all the stakeholders, including haulage contractors, tanker drivers and the petroleum marketing companies. The Observer was also told that the proposed measures, some of which are likely to be legislated, are in keeping with the overall thrust to modernise the local petroleum sector.
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A lockdown of the local petroleum sector is looming as furious industry stakeholders intensify calls for Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell to intervene and plug gaping holes which they say are making their survival increasingly difficult.
The peeved stakeholders include petroleum tanker drivers, haulage contractors and service station operators, all of whom point fingers at petroleum marketing companies, which they claim are walking away with huge profits while the rest of the sector struggles as a result of policies they have imposed.
It is against this background that the stakeholders are joining forces to lobby the Government to introduce legislation which they feel will create a level playing field.
Their concerns have heightened in the wake of recent moves by one marketing company to terminate the contracts of several service stations which reportedly failed to meet performance targets it had set.
The threats of closure sent shockwaves through the petroleum retail sector and resulted in several meetings involving the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA). Out of those discussions came plans to implement a wide range of cost-cutting measures in order for them to remain afloat. The termination of the jobs of scores of pump attendants and other workers was among them.
It is a last resort for JGRA President Trevor Heaven, but he said it will be inevitable if the Government fails to address serious anomalies relating to the policies of the marketing companies.
“We don’t want to raise prices; in fact, we can’t. And we don’t want to dislocate our employees, but we need equitable margins to take into account factors such as shrinkage (evaporation of a portion of the product),” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Shrinkage, according to one industry expert, normally occurs in the transportation of fuel from one location to another, or in the process of filling up at service stations.
Another issue with which the sector grapples, added Heaven, was that service station operators who lease properties from marketing companies, and who seek to diversify their income, are faced with strong resistance.
“The marketers should allow retailers to use the facilities to explore other income-generating activities. The moment you decide to go into a tyre sale venture or any other service on the property, you are told how much you will need to pay,” Heaven said, describing the lease agreements as onerous.
“We have never seen this level of fallout before, and it speaks to the fact that the business itself is becoming more and more challenging,” said Heaven, who told the Observer that he would be meeting with other aggrieved stakeholders before approaching the energy minister.
For Corporate Area service station operator Dwight Moore, the blame lays at the feet of successive political administrations which have failed to nip the problem in the bud by introducing legislation to level the playing field.
“We want a win-win situation, because we understand that they (the marketing companies) made an investment when they decided to come to Jamaica, and we fully appreciate the need for them to capitalise on that investment. However, the existing legislation favours them, as they are able to set margins without sharing any of their benefits with service station operators. We get the product at near commercial rates and then have to resell, despite us bearing the brunt of costs associated with product shrinkage, security, etc. These costs erode what you make on the product. What we need is equity,” Moore declared.
Despite several efforts, the Observer was unable to speak with representatives of two of the major marketing companies operating in the country.
Energy Minister Paulwell was also unavailable as he was said to be off the island. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining acknowledged that the ministry was aware of the charges against the marketing companies.
According to the officer, a comprehensive review of the local petroleum retail sector has been completed, and will lead to a raft of changes relating to issues such as safety, transparency and competitiveness.
The technocrat explained that the measures will also result in the creation of a level playing field for all the stakeholders, including haulage contractors, tanker drivers and the petroleum marketing companies. The Observer was also told that the proposed measures, some of which are likely to be legislated, are in keeping with the overall thrust to modernise the local petroleum sector.
Read more:
A lockdown of the local petroleum sector is looming as furious industry stakeholders intensify calls for Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell to intervene and plug gaping holes which they say are making their survival increasingly difficult.
The peeved stakeholders include petroleum tanker drivers, haulage contractors and service station operators, all of whom point fingers at petroleum marketing companies, which they claim are walking away with huge profits while the rest of the sector struggles as a result of policies they have imposed.
It is against this background that the stakeholders are joining forces to lobby the Government to introduce legislation which they feel will create a level playing field.
Their concerns have heightened in the wake of recent moves by one marketing company to terminate the contracts of several service stations which reportedly failed to meet performance targets it had set.
The threats of closure sent shockwaves through the petroleum retail sector and resulted in several meetings involving the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA). Out of those discussions came plans to implement a wide range of cost-cutting measures in order for them to remain afloat. The termination of the jobs of scores of pump attendants and other workers was among them.
It is a last resort for JGRA President Trevor Heaven, but he said it will be inevitable if the Government fails to address serious anomalies relating to the policies of the marketing companies.
“We don’t want to raise prices; in fact, we can’t. And we don’t want to dislocate our employees, but we need equitable margins to take into account factors such as shrinkage (evaporation of a portion of the product),” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Shrinkage, according to one industry expert, normally occurs in the transportation of fuel from one location to another, or in the process of filling up at service stations.
Another issue with which the sector grapples, added Heaven, was that service station operators who lease properties from marketing companies, and who seek to diversify their income, are faced with strong resistance.
“The marketers should allow retailers to use the facilities to explore other income-generating activities. The moment you decide to go into a tyre sale venture or any other service on the property, you are told how much you will need to pay,” Heaven said, describing the lease agreements as onerous.
“We have never seen this level of fallout before, and it speaks to the fact that the business itself is becoming more and more challenging,” said Heaven, who told the Observer that he would be meeting with other aggrieved stakeholders before approaching the energy minister.
For Corporate Area service station operator Dwight Moore, the blame lays at the feet of successive political administrations which have failed to nip the problem in the bud by introducing legislation to level the playing field.
“We want a win-win situation, because we understand that they (the marketing companies) made an investment when they decided to come to Jamaica, and we fully appreciate the need for them to capitalise on that investment. However, the existing legislation favours them, as they are able to set margins without sharing any of their benefits with service station operators. We get the product at near commercial rates and then have to resell, despite us bearing the brunt of costs associated with product shrinkage, security, etc. These costs erode what you make on the product. What we need is equity,” Moore declared.
Despite several efforts, the Observer was unable to speak with representatives of two of the major marketing companies operating in the country.
Energy Minister Paulwell was also unavailable as he was said to be off the island. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining acknowledged that the ministry was aware of the charges against the marketing companies.
According to the officer, a comprehensive review of the local petroleum retail sector has been completed, and will lead to a raft of changes relating to issues such as safety, transparency and competitiveness.
The technocrat explained that the measures will also result in the creation of a level playing field for all the stakeholders, including haulage contractors, tanker drivers and the petroleum marketing companies. The Observer was also told that the proposed measures, some of which are likely to be legislated, are in keeping with the overall thrust to modernise the local petroleum sector.
Read more:
(AP) -The price of oil crept up closer to US$97 a barrel today on expectations that the European Central Bank will soon announce new measures to fight the continent’s debt crisis.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for October delivery was up 47 cents to US$96.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract rose US$1.85 to finish at US$96.47 Friday. There was no closing price Monday because of a public holiday in the US.
In London, Brent crude was up $1.72 at $116.29 on the ICE Futures exchange.
The ECB’s governing council is meeting Thursday and ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to reveal a new bond-buying programme aimed at easing borrowing cost for countries like Spain and Italy.
The ECB’s awaited announcement “is likely to prompt speculative financial investors to jump on the bandwagon and drive the (oil) price further upward,” said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
“The development of prices and the commitment displayed by investors are at odds with the fundamental data, which continue to suggest an oversupply,” analysts at Commerzbank said. If the central banks fail to live up to expectations, oil prices are likely to drop sharply, they added.
Speculation about the ECB’s stimulus measures has helped support the euro against the dollar. After dropping to near two-year lows near US$1.20 at the end of July, the euro has pushed back to near US$1.26. That pushes up oil prices, which is traded in dollars and becomes cheaper for holders of other currencies when the dollar drops.
Oil analyst Stephen Schork said in a report that oil prices could see “increased volatility this week” due to the loss of a trading day Monday because of a holiday in the US.
The release Friday of US nonfarm payrolls for August, a closely watched gauge of employment in the world’s No 1 economy, also could impact prices, Schork said. He attributed recent swings in the oil price to the conflicting influences of a lower dollar and refinery disruptions in the US Gulf Coast that resulted from Hurricane Isaac.
While a substantial amount of oil and gas production remains offline, production is coming back as expected. No major damage to oil platforms or refineries has been reported.
In other Nymex energy futures trading, heating oil rose 2.53 cents to US$3.2055 a gallon and wholesale gasoline was up 2.31 cents at US$2.9959 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2.8 cents to US$2.771 per 1,000 cubic feet
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KINGSTON, Jamaica – Opposition Spokesman for Industry, Commerce and Energy, Gregory Mair, is blasting Government’s handling of the energy sector.
In a release to the media Mair said inaction on 10 consecutive weeks of increasing gas prices, high electricity rates and Petrojam
The first Caribbean International Electric Car Show was launched at the Cayman Motor Museum in West Bay in Grand Cayman.
There it was officially announced that regulations allowing electric cars to be registered in the Cayman Islands had been approved.
A number of different models were on display, including the popular Wheego; a two-seater zippy vehicle that will be one of the cars available for purchase in the Cayman islands.
http://rjrnewsonline.com/business/cayman-hosts-1st-caribbean-international-electric-car-show
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Julian Robinson, says Jamaica is ripe for investment in renewable energy.
Following a recent assessment of the rates paid to people who generate energy which is then sold to the grid, a recommendation is now on the table that will make it more attractive for investors to invest locally, said Robinson said, adding this will bring significant benefits to the energy consuming public.
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How bad will you be affected by gasoline retailers’ decision to stop accepting Visa and MasterCard credit cards for fuel?
Very badly
By Robert Lalah
I could scarcely believe my eyes. The sign outside the gas station near Ocho Rios, St Ann, had the price of a litre of 90 octane gas as $135. Surely, this was a mistake. I mean, gas prices are high, and they seem to be rising faster than ever, but there’s no way anyone could be selling it for that much money.
I continued driving along the same roadway, amused at the gas station’s error and wondering how long it would take for them to discover the misdeed. Poor fools, I thought.
Then, my stomach sank. About 100 yards to my left was another gas station, a different company entirely, and looming over the property was a billboard of sorts, ominously displaying the price of a litre of 90 octane gas – $139.
I was stunned.
This happened a couple of weeks ago while I was in St Ann for just a day. In Kingston, a litre of the same gas averages somewhere around the mid to high 120s. St Ann clearly has it a lot worse, but I suspect that no matter where in the country you are, filling up at a gas station these days is more painful than root canal.
I remember when the price of a litre of gas hit triple digits for the first time. Something told me that despite the usual fluctuations in prices, we would never again return to sub-$100 days. I fear I was right.
Everyone hates high gas prices. You could be driving a Corolla or a Range Rover, it really doesn’t matter. We all have things we’d rather do with our money.
Same lousy gas
The most vexing part of it is that whether you’re paying $39 or $139, all you’re getting is the same lousy gas that will only take you from here to there and no further. What’s so great about over there anyway? I’m seriously contemplating just staying here permanently.
But I know I’ll probably have to go to the grocery store at some point, so I need to come up with some sort of low-budget transportation plan. I was near South Camp Road the other day and saw two policemen standing on a sidewalk behind some shrubs while two large brown horses grazed nearby. I used to think it was silly for policemen to be riding around the city on horses in this day and age.
It always seemed awkward, like the horses weren’t sure how to manoeuvre the paved areas and the policemen were just hanging on for dear life, hoping they’d figure it out. But now I see the genius of it. Horses don’t run out of gas. And when they need a top-up on energy, all you have to do is pull up to the nearest grassy area and let them have a go at it.
They are messy, though, and it would likely be a real chore parking one in a garage.
I guess I could always get a scooter. They run on very little gas, can zip through traffic and are a breeze to park. The trouble, though, is that it’s impossible to look cool on a scooter. There’s something about the tiny wheels and perky horn that make them appear less than sophisticated.
Walking is an option, but only within reason. I can’t promise anyone that I’ll be trekking miles-long distances, but perhaps for everyday tasks, this plan could work. Instead of driving around town paying bills and buying this and that, at places relatively close to each other, maybe I could just walk. I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about parking, and refuelling would require little more than a tall glass of water.
But consider how time-consuming this would be. And what if I want to see a late movie at Carib? I don’t want to be walking home near midnight. There are enough crazies in the city during the day.
Hmm. Foiled again. This needs some more thought, but I won’t stop trying. Better to find a way out now than to wait till gas gets to the dreaded $200-per-litre mark which, at the current rate, could be only a few months away.
Robert Lalah is assistant editor – features, and author of the popular ‘Roving with Lalah’. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120903/cleisure/cleisure4.html
