KINGSTON, Jamaica
THE Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) has expressed surprise at the objections raised by lobby group Citizens United To Reduce Electricity (CURE) to its use of trained police officers to remove illegal connections and carry out arrests without company representatives being present.
On Monday, CURE
The Editor,
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) said it has caused J$21.15 million to be credited to the accounts of customers of the island’s two main utilities during the past year.
The money was credited to the accounts of customers of the National Water Commission (NWC) and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) during the period June 2012 to May 2013, the OUR said in a statement yesterday.
The figure dwarfed the $1.19 million secured on behalf of customers during the June 2011 to May 2012 period. The OUR said the sums secured during the past year represents an increase of more than 1,600 per cent.
The OUR said the money was secured as a result of appeals done by the regulator on the behalf of customers. However, the nature of the main complaints against the companies was not obtained byWednesday Business
The National Workers
IMF Letter of Intent for Jamaica, April 2013
Renewable Energy exerpts extracted from:
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%
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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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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Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), which holds 40 per cent interest in the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported a 3.4 per cent increase in the book value of its investment in the utility to 303 billion won (US$267 million) in its March 2013 financials.
It indicates that JPS continues to provide value for its shareholders despite its March 2013 quarterly loss totalling some US$789,000, of which 40 per cent represented Kepco’s share of the loss.
Kepco is a subsidiary of Korea East-West Power.
The rise in the book value was caused by a 17-billion won (US$15-million) increase in ‘other comprehensive income‘ which represents certain gains not reflected in the profit and loss account. The financials posted to the US Securities and Exchange did not disclose the nature of the gains.
Kepco acquired JPS shares in 2011 for 301.9 billion won. Last financial year, the Korean company earned US$2 million in dividends from its JPS investment. The utility paid out a total of US$5 million in dividends last year.
For the three months ending March 2013, the company took no dividends, according to the financials.
The profitability of JPS, one of the largest companies in Jamaica, was affected by higher-than-usual finance costs at US$17 million for the quarter (US$11 million a year earlier) which nearly ate through the US$18 million of gross profit.
JPS’s other top owners are Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, at 40 per cent, and the Government of Jamaica, which holds 19.9 per cent.
The power utility currently earns US$1.14 billion (J$112b) of revenue annually as the monopoly distributor of electricity. It is capitalised at US$378.77 million (J$37.5b) while its net assets amount to US$838.46 million (J$83b).
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Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), which holds 40 per cent interest in the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported a 3.4 per cent increase in the book value of its investment in the utility to 303 billion won (US$267 million) in its March 2013 financials.
It indicates that JPS continues to provide value for its shareholders despite its March 2013 quarterly loss totalling some US$789,000, of which 40 per cent represented Kepco’s share of the loss.
Kepco is a subsidiary of Korea East-West Power.
The rise in the book value was caused by a 17-billion won (US$15-million) increase in ‘other comprehensive income‘ which represents certain gains not reflected in the profit and loss account. The financials posted to the US Securities and Exchange did not disclose the nature of the gains.
Kepco acquired JPS shares in 2011 for 301.9 billion won. Last financial year, the Korean company earned US$2 million in dividends from its JPS investment. The utility paid out a total of US$5 million in dividends last year.
For the three months ending March 2013, the company took no dividends, according to the financials.
The profitability of JPS, one of the largest companies in Jamaica, was affected by higher-than-usual finance costs at US$17 million for the quarter (US$11 million a year earlier) which nearly ate through the US$18 million of gross profit.
JPS’s other top owners are Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, at 40 per cent, and the Government of Jamaica, which holds 19.9 per cent.
The power utility currently earns US$1.14 billion (J$112b) of revenue annually as the monopoly distributor of electricity. It is capitalised at US$378.77 million (J$37.5b) while its net assets amount to US$838.46 million (J$83b).
business@gleanerjm.com
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