electricity Archives - Page 18 of 18

News

Jamaica Public Service (JPS) bill shocker

September 14, 2010 jrobinson

: Image via Wikipedia

I received a bill from Jamaica Public Service via email on Monday morning (September 13). The bill had an amount due of $49,021.51. The readings were – Current meter reading: 3667 kWh; Previous estimated meter reading: 2106 kWh.

This varies from a normal bill of approximately $17,500 with absolutely no change in my consumption or usage pattern. A quick check on the meter showed that the current reading is in fact 2727 kWh, three days after the meter was ‘read’ on September 10. On the bill was a note AH1 which overleaf read:

“Your meter was read and our quality checks identified your reading as high. However, further checks suggest that the reading was correct and so it was used to bill your account.”

While the person at JPS promises to have the matter checked, it leaves me to ask three questions:

1. What “further checks” could JPS have done in the intervening period which covers Saturday and Sunday?

2. Were I not able to read the meter, what kind of hassle would I have to undergo to have this matter resolved?

3. Am I going to hear that the meter is malfunctioning after requesting at least three meter checks over the last two years and being told that the meter is correct?

Clearly, JPS needs to modify its procedures to ensure that cases like this actually undergo some sort of quality-control checks before they reach the consumer.

I am, etc.,

DONATH E. JUMPP

Jamaica Gleaner

News

How come customers of JPS can’t save?

August 4, 2010 jrobinson

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I THINK the time has come for the Government to put in place some kind of mechanism, except the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), to examine the the affairs of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS). I say except the OUR as I don’t think this organisation has been doing enough to protect consumers from what appears to be the company’s shenanigans in its billing system. Talk to any Jamaican in any walk of life, be they company executive or the ordinary man in the street, and you will hear the same story: despite great efforts to reduce their consumption of electricity, the bill is always higher than the one before.

My own experience bears out the collective experience of most persons. I am chairperson of a strata corporation, responsible for the common areas of a shopping centre in Liguanea, St Andrew. In an effort to reduce electricity consumption, we turned off most of the light to the common areas during the month of June, but instead of seeing a reduction from the previous bill, our current bill is now over 30 per cent above May’s bill. How come, JPS?

The exchange rate was always used by the JPS to justify monthly increases to customers, but this can no longer be the case, as the rates have remained fairly stable for some time now. So, again, how come, JPS? If the country is being asked to conserve electricity so we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, why should all the savings end up in the coffers of a foreign company rather than in the saving accounts of people who make the sacrifice?

I am, etc.,

Winston Barrett

wdbarrett123@yahoo.com

Jamaica Gleaner

News

Solar-Power Industry Hits Magic Number

August 1, 2010 jrobinson

While some investors feel they’re still waiting for the sun to rise on the solar energy industry, it’s already high noon for some parts of the sector.

In some places in the U.S. today, solar photovoltaic, PV, technology

News

Electricity’s domino effect

July 30, 2010 jrobinson

The most pressing problem facing the country at this time is not crime and violence, but the arrangement that we have with the Jamaica Public Service. The first chief executive officer under the new arrangement, Charles Matthews, had told us from very early that a time was coming when many Jamaicans would not be able to afford electricity, and it seems we did not believe him. How could it be otherwise, given the kind of contract that his company was able to secure with the Government of Jamaica?

How could we have agreed to an arrangement that exposed the entire economy to the kind of disaster that we are now facing, and why did it take so long for us to realise that the situation was unsustainable, and take timely steps to correct it? The Jamaica Manufacturers Association, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the Jamaica Exporters Association, and numerous other consumers have been complaining bitterly for a long time, and more recently, the Spanish ambassador to Jamaica has added his voice to the chorus. God bless Jesus.

Severe cash-flow problems

By the time the cost of electricity is factored into the prices of even the most basic goods, half of them get left at the cash register and of those people who are able to pay their own electricity bills, they can hardly buy anything else. As the disposable dollar is being taken away, businesses are losing their customers, resulting in severe cash-flow problems and as they struggle to pay their own exorbitant electricity bills, they find it extremely difficult to pay anyone else, including their staff. Even taxes become hard to pay. The domino effect takes over and before you know it, corruption sets in.

As economic activity slows down with demand, so will revenue collection and this time, enforcement will not be of much help. We must address this problem urgently. We will not meet the International Monetary Fund conditionalities if we don’t.

It is also in the JPS’s interest that this matter be resolved as soon as possible as the current arrangement is leading to a stalemate. It is quite possible to arrive at a modified contract that will allow all concerned to make a reasonable return on their investment.

I am, etc.,

VICTOR NUGENT

St Ann’s Bay

Jamaica Gleaner

News

Energy policy to address wheeling by September

July 28, 2010 jrobinson

Energy ministry officials yesterday said that policies that will give private entities access to Jamaica Public Service Company’s (JPS’) distribution lines to provide its own electricity at several sites across the island, among other energy related issues, will be comprehensively addressed by September.

Senior energy engineer in the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Fitzroy Vidal told the Business Observer at the Observer headquarters in Kingston that ‘wheeling’, which concerns the development of terms and conditions that would allow a private entity to provide its own electricity at multiple geographical locations transiting JPS’ network, was currently supported but pricing still remains an issue.

“There is nothing which precludes anybody at the moment from wheeling power. The policy supports it right now,” he told journalists. “The issue is the price or the rate… we are addressing several policies now which by September would have comprehesively addressed all of these issues. In the same way we use these policies to deal with the Wigton rates. It is the electricity policy that will address wheeling and the regulatory environmnent and pricing.”

Energy Minister, James Robertson, said he viewed wheeling as an opportunity to encourage the use of renewable energy.

“All these policies will be harmonised to make sure thare are no policy conflicts,” added Vidal.

THE Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) had set its sight on a June date to make a determination on a new regulatory mechanism that facilitate wheeling in its its corporate plan for the next three years — currently available on the regulator’s website for public comment — the OUR said it would “conduct public consultations and issue a Determination on ‘wheeling’, by June 2010”.

“(Wheeling) concerns the development of terms and conditions that would allow a private entity to provide its own electricity at multiple geographical locations transiting JPS’ network, a scenario that is contemplated by Condition 2 clauses 11 and 12 of the JPS All Island Electricity Licence,” said the regulator.

The OUR said it was responding to “interest among private entities to self-generate electricity for supplies at disparate geographical locations”, adding that the process could “only be facilitated if there is in place some kind of wheeling arrangement with JPS”.

Robertson noted that the section of the policy was being tailored to accommodate the National Water Commission, the state-run utility company that is among the largest users of electricity and which would have scores of pumping houses across the island.

Jamaica Observer

1 … 16 17 18