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Tag: Government

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Bid delay irks private sector groups

July 29, 2013

Three of the island’s major private sector organisations are again expressing disappointment at the recent decision by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to further delay the bid process for the 360 Megawatt Generating Project.

The organisations have also expressed alarm at the decision by the OUR to also remove the requirement for an up-front bid bond to be posted at the same time as submission of the bid.

In a joint news release yesterday, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), said that they were alarmed at these latest developments, which have come just two working days before the previous July 29 deadline.

According to the organisations, “the bid bond serves the critical purpose of mitigating against (i) the presentation of frivolous, unrealistic, initially-low bids that upon award require further negotiation with the OUR, and/or (ii) the presentation of apparently attractive bids, devoid of substance, that lack the appropriate due diligence and serious consideration, on the part of the sponsor and investors, that would only come after award.

“A removal of the bid bond requirement with bid submission is therefore an invitation for mischievous bid behaviour, delays and false promises. In fact for a project of this size, any bidder that is reluctant to provide a substantial bid bond must be viewed with some skepticism,” the statement said.

The private sector organisations said that they are cautioning the Government against fostering an environment that incentivises these kinds of strategies in such an important project that is needed urgently for the country’s economic growth.

According to the groups, the up-front provision of a substantial bid bond is a normal procedure in major infrastructural bids in Jamaica and worldwide, and this current move does not follow best practices, adding that while they reluctantly accept that the delay seems to be a foregone conclusion, they are strongly urging that the bid bond requirement be reinstated immediately, in order to ensure that transparency and credibility is maintained throughout this process.

The Jamaica Observer;

News

Jamaican Power Plant workers stage protest

July 1, 2013

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Workers at the Jamaica Power Plant (JPP) in Rockfort, St Andrew this morning staged a protest at the gate of the company.

The JPP workers claim that they are being unfairly treated by officials of the company.

“Last week they made 15 workers at the company redundant and we hear there are plans to relieve more workers,” one protesting worker said.

The worker was one of several placard-bearing protestors who threatened that protest action will continue until they are addressed by management of the company.

–Kimmo Matthews

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Electricity Government News

360 mw energy project delay irks PSOJ

June 26, 2013

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.

ZACCA

Electricity Government News

Energy News – IMF Letter of Intent for Jamaica, April 2013

June 17, 2013

IMF Letter of Intent for Jamaica, April 2013

Renewable Energy exerpts extracted from:

International Monetary Fund

Jamaica: Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding
April 17, 2013

The following item is a Letter of Intent of the government of Jamaica, which
describes the policies that Jamaica intends to implement in the context of its
request for financial support from the IMF.

GROWTH STRATEGY
11. The government is committed to implementing a growth strategy built on time
bound fiscal consolidation and structural reforms aimed at reducing impediments to
growth, complemented by strategic investment facilitation. Among the main impediments to
growth are high public debt (142 percent of GDP as of end 2011/12), low factor productivity and
competitiveness, high energy cost,…

Labour Market Interventions and Reform
15.
The Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technology Programme (in partnership with the
CARICOM Education for Employment Programme) to create a skilled workforce to design,
install and maintain Renewable Energy Systems (beginning January 2014).

Strategic Investments
17.
Implement energy sector initiatives to achieve fuel-source diversification, facilitate
energy conservation and promote liberalization in delivery to achieve progressive
reductions in the cost of energy. Accordingly, the government will:
? Diversify energy sources from oil to gas based and renewables.4

4
!!!!!!! The construction and commissioning by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) of a 360 Megawatt
Combined Cycle plant by 2015 remains a centerpiece of the medium term energy sector strategy, as well as a
build out of renewable energy capacity.!!!!!!

With regard to the promotion of renewable energy, the JPS All Island
Electricity Licence was amended to, among other things, establish a 25MW ceiling (previously 15MW) for
renewable energy generation capacity to be installed and sold to the JPS grid without competitive tendering. In
addition, in November 2012 the Office of Utilities regulation (OUR) issued a Request for Proposals for the supply
of 115MW of electricity generation from Renewable Energy and the bid period was subsequently extended by
two months to June 2013.

Promote liberalization in delivery through continued efforts to facilitate distributed
generation networks.6

6
In 2011, the Government introduced Net Billing regulation, and in May 2012 issued licenses for the first eleven
participants in the Net Billing initiative. The Government, through the Energy Security and Efficiency
Enhancement Project has provided resources for a US$4.6 million line of credit through the Development Bank of
Jamaica for businesses to implement renewable energy and efficiency-enhancement projects. In addition,
The Development Bank of Jamaica has instituted a J$100 million fund for residential energy loans to finance
renewable energy solutions such as small wind turbines, solar panels or biogas ingesters, while the National
Housing Trust has introduced two loan facilities to facilitate the installation of Solar Water Heaters and Solar
Photovoltaic Panels.

Complete document:
http://jsea.org.jm/docs/IMF%20Letter%20of%20Intent%20for%20Jamaica,%20April%202013%20(041713).pdf

Electricity Government News

Work To Reduce Street-Light Bill Done, Mr Arscott

June 17, 2013

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 Mayor of May Pen

Former President, ALGA

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Electricity Government News

Work To Reduce Street-Light Bill Done, Mr Arscott

June 17, 2013

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 Mayor of May Pen

Former President, ALGA

Read more:

Electricity Government News

360MW Bidders Get One-Month Extension

June 17, 2013

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

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