THE country cannot continue to depend on oil if the island intends to make meaningful progress with its economy, a leading energy engineer has said.
Certified energy manager and energy auditor, Owen Gunning, who is also president of the Jamaica Society of Energy Engineers, wants a full-scale effort to be made to reduce Jamaica‘s dependence on oil as its base fuel and insists that a ‘more action, less talk’ approach should be adopted.
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Observer Monday Exchange guests (from left) Alando Terrelonge, partner at Bailey Terrelonge Allen; Edison Galbraith, general manager, loan origination, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ); Christopher Brown, energy project co-ordinator, DBJ; and Owen Gunning, certified energy manager, certified energy auditor and president of the Jamaica Society of Energy Engineers, continue the discussion on energy efficiency following the end of the Exchange yesterday at the newspaper
Residents of Providence in Montego Bay, St James, who have not yet regularised their service with Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) have until Friday to do so or be left without electricity. The JPS said sections being targeted are Mahogany Drive, Church Hill Road and an area commonly known as Providence Capture. It said these are the areas in which the company has been installing its new, more secure Residential Advanced Metering Infrastructure system. According to the light and power company, it has been reaching out to residents to be a part of the electricity regularisation programme for more than a year. It said it has offered house-wiring assistance loans and established temporary offices in the community to help resolve any outstanding matters. editorial@gleanerjm.com Read more:
Zacca
WITH ENERGY Minister Phillip Paulwell scheduled to address the House of Representatives today, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) says it wants him to provide clarity on the way forward for the implementation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “We are looking for transparency and we are looking for some certainty because we feel this issue has got to be addressed in a way that the wider society buys into it and in particular, my constituency, the business sector needs to get that confidence booster out of it,” Chris Zacca, head of the PSOJ, told participants in a Gleaner Editors’ Forum at the the newspaper’s central Kingston head offices yesterday. There have been jitters in the society ever since
Gasoline retailers could scrap a plan to stop accepting credit cards for fuel purchases if financial institutions agree to revise their processing fees. The Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association (JGRA), yesterday put on hold, its decision for members to cease accepting Visa and MasterCard credit cards. The news came just hours before the scheduled implementation. The suspension is until November 1. JGRA President Derrick Thompson says if
The Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA), says as of October 1, service stations will no longer accept Master or Visa credit cards for fuel sales. However, it said traditional debit cards will be accepted. In August, members of the association agreed to stop accepting credit cards as part of cost saving measures. The JGRA has complained that the unacceptable processing fees charged by financial institutions are sometimes higher than profit margins. editorial@gleanerjm.com Read more:
FOLLOWING THE revocation of an exploration licence, which was granted to Rainville Energy Corp, a subsidiary of Sagres Energy, to drill for oil, Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell has signalled that another company that was granted a licence could have it cancelled if they don’t begin drilling soon. The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica yesterday said the failure of Rainville to meet its financial obligations has resulted in the revocation. Under the agreement, which dates back to 2006, Rainville should have secured the necessary funding for the second phase of the programme which began in May 2012. Among other things, this phase involved the drilling of an exploratory well by November 2013. Paulwell told
THE Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) has pulled oil exploration rights from Rainville Energy. The Canadian outfit’s licence was revoked due to its failure to meet its financial obligations.
Kelly Tomblin, president of Jamaica Public Service Company. – Ian Allen / Photographer
Power distributor Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) remains committed to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its planned 360-megawatt power plant despite Government’s expected plan to scrap the supply of gas for the project, according to the utility’s boss. The private sector can assume the role of supplying the gas, if allowed by Government, JPS Chief Executive Officer Kelly Tomblin said Tuesday. The company will meet with Government this week to determine its next step. “The private sector could secure LNG if Government permits it,” Tomblin told
Kelly Tomblin, president of Jamaica Public Service Company. – Ian Allen / Photographer
Power distributor Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) remains committed to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its planned 360-megawatt power plant despite Government’s expected plan to scrap the supply of gas for the project, according to the utility’s boss. The private sector can assume the role of supplying the gas, if allowed by Government, JPS Chief Executive Officer Kelly Tomblin said Tuesday. The company will meet with Government this week to determine its next step. “The private sector could secure LNG if Government permits it,” Tomblin told
EXIM Bank Jamaica has again cut lending rates on its renewable energy loans for investment in energy-efficient equipment. The new rate on offer to small and medium enterprises in the productive sector is 8.5 per cent for Jamaican dollar loans, down from 9.75 per cent last September. The USD rate 5.75 per cent. “We know that energy costs are high and this is adversely affecting the growth of our small and medium enterprises. Not only in them realising profit but in their ability to compete effectively in the international markets,” said Valerie Crawford, manager of trade financing and risk management at EXIM Bank in a bank-issued statement. The energy loans are available to commercial and industrial users, energy service companies and manufacturers of energy efficiency equipment and devices. business@gleanerjm.com Read more: |