The government has signed a deal with Canadian oil and gas exploration company, Fagres, to begin the process of drilling for oil in Jamaica come next year.
ELEVEN PERSONS yesterday collected the first batch of net billing licences offered by the Government that will allow them to sell the excess electricity they generate to the national grid.
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell, who handed out the licences, said having installed a solar-energy system at his home, he intended to apply to his ministry for a licence.
“My PV (photovoltaic) system is fully up and running and I am now anticipating my JPS (Jamaica Public Service Company) bill later this month,” said Paulwell, who was speaking at a meeting of the Jamaica Energy Council held at Jamaica House yesterday.
Under the net billing system, licensees are expected to see huge reductions in their electricity bills after balancing the amount owed for energy used and what is earned from the excess energy sold to the grid.
“The bill from JPS is netted against the bill from the production and at the end of the month, the net bill to the customer,” explained Hopeton Heron, deputy director general at the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).
“At the end of three months, you will see whether you owe JPS or JPS owes you and a cheque is cut somewhere to settle the matter,” he added.
The system will be governed by a five-year standard offer contract that each licensee is required to sign.
Addressing concerns about the impact of adding new facilities to the grid, Heron said for the next two months, the OUR will be conducting a pilot project that will limit the new connections to two per cent of the existing capacity.
Paulwell said he hoped this would encourage more Jamaicans to come forward and apply for licences as “the Government looks to enlarge its ambition in relation to renewable energy“.
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Small and large businesses are lauding the success of this year’s biannual Expo Jamaica, which ran from April 26-29.
Organised by the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) and the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA), in collaboration with JAMPRO, the four-day event was staged at the National Arena in St Andrew under the theme ‘Brand Jamaica’.
Hundreds of people turned out to view the offerings from the 200 companies showcasing more than 2,000 products.
First-timer to the expo, Solar Buzz Jamaica, won the award for Best Use of Technology in a Booth.
Chief Executive Officer Jason Robinson said they were quite happy with the response to their offerings on services and products to reduce and conserve energy.
“It really gave us a lot of exposure. In fact, as we speak, I’m just leaving the Ministry of Energy, which invited us to display the exact same expo booth set-up at the EEC (Energy Efficiency and Conservation) presentation today (yesterday) with Minister (Phillip) Paulwell,” said Robinson.
Robinson said since the expo ended on Sunday, they have been busy honouring commitments to clients, who had paid or signed up for energy assessments, as well as filling orders for residential and commercial clients for solar products.
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