Sacha Walters-Gregory, Staff Reporter
National power supplier, Jamaica Public Service (JPS), is relinquishing power to its customers by venturing into retail, with its new e-Store which sells devices designed to cut customers’ energy costs.
“It’s really to put knowledge and information in our customers’ hands. As you look at our products you’ll see that a lot of our products are designed to do just that,” said Kelly Tomblin, president and CEO of JPS, at the official opening of the first store last Thursday.
The power company, often dogged by customers’ complaints of high energy costs, is selling devices to save energy, protect electrical equipment and monitor electricity usage, which will ultimately allow consumers to reduce energy consumption.
Located at the power company’s Ruthven Road Customer Service Office, at 23 Ruthven Road, St Andrew, the store is one of four stores to be opened this year.
“The products really help our customers to say, this costs me that and unfortunately when you get a bill at the end of the month for activity done throughout that month there’s nothing you can do about it at that time, but we’re going to give them information along the way so they can afford that energy bill and then after that we’re going to talk about how you decrease your usage,” said Tomblin. She further explained that energy conservation needs to be more relevant to customers.
REAL CONSERVATION
“The reason we believe that these kind of products and stores are necessary is that we’re finding although we give conservation a lot of lip service we haven’t got passionate about it. I think it’s because we haven’t made it real, conservation and show a bill before and after. So we’re hoping that along with the government we can lead the way to show real decreases in energy prices,” she said.
One of the products available in the store is the Digital Energy Timer, invented locally, which can be attached to a variety of electrical devices, allowing owners to automatically turn these devices off when not in use by way of a timer or by way of the Internet. It can be applied on a small scale in homes or larger scale in businesses. According to a release from the company, “the timer, which also comes with an energy meter that measures power consumed, can be installed at distribution panels, electrical enclosures and specific zone areas and is particularly useful in determining energy usage of one section of a factory or a tenant in a rental situation. ”
Other products include LED lights which can reduce energy costs by approximately $3,000 per bulb per year; an Energy Saving Kit ($2,900 including GCT), which includes a low-flow shower head that allows you to use 0.5 less gallons of water, a timer to alert you when you’ve reached the optimal time for a shower, a sensored night light and three energy-efficient bulbs and surge protector devices.
Customers can also access the devices available at the eStore, at JPS branches islandwide.
sacha.walters@gleanerjm.com)
THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS with deep regret that I complain the nth time about the Jamaica Public ‘Scalping’ Co. Mr Editor, the five of us have scaled down by now living in much smaller accommodations since our children no longer live with us, and we have adjusted to pensions and far less space and equipment.
In 2011, my light bill was $4,000, plus a month. In 2012, I moved to a one-bedroom apartment and the bill came to $7,500, plus a month and I use the same old computer, television, radio, washing machine, and small refrigerator. The five of us fussed, decided against lying down on the steps of JPS, New Kingston, and planned to further cut our energy usage. We cut the use of fans, cut the time on the heater, cut out the microwave, plugged out the refrigerator and other plugged-in equipment when we leave the house. Three of us cut the cable service for it had moved up from $3,000 a month for seniors. The hurtful part of this is our having to watch the same two stations with the very same news.
Anyway, we received our new ‘JPScalp bill’, and we are all devastated because we tried to cut. Our bills have moved from $7,000, $8,000, $9,000 to $11,000, $14,000, $16,000, plus a month, and we all have to pay by April 12. This is outrageous and we are sitting ducks!
We have served our time very well, and we should not be fleeced in this manner. Is there any court that will address us? There’s a little water settling on my brain at this time, so I’m breaking away from the others by not going to any of the old basins like OUR and HPA (Hear Paulwell Announce).
Mr Editor, how can I find Mr Michael Williams, if he has any gas left in him? What can we do by now and the 12th of April to relieve us of the taxation being imposed by these private barons of serfdom? Have you seen what the supermarket owners and the merchants are doing with the markup of old items? HELP!
MILLS BLAKE
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THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS with deep regret that I complain the nth time about the Jamaica Public ‘Scalping’ Co. Mr Editor, the five of us have scaled down by now living in much smaller accommodations since our children no longer live with us, and we have adjusted to pensions and far less space and equipment.
In 2011, my light bill was $4,000, plus a month. In 2012, I moved to a one-bedroom apartment and the bill came to $7,500, plus a month and I use the same old computer, television, radio, washing machine, and small refrigerator. The five of us fussed, decided against lying down on the steps of JPS, New Kingston, and planned to further cut our energy usage. We cut the use of fans, cut the time on the heater, cut out the microwave, plugged out the refrigerator and other plugged-in equipment when we leave the house. Three of us cut the cable service for it had moved up from $3,000 a month for seniors. The hurtful part of this is our having to watch the same two stations with the very same news.
Anyway, we received our new ‘JPScalp bill’, and we are all devastated because we tried to cut. Our bills have moved from $7,000, $8,000, $9,000 to $11,000, $14,000, $16,000, plus a month, and we all have to pay by April 12. This is outrageous and we are sitting ducks!
We have served our time very well, and we should not be fleeced in this manner. Is there any court that will address us? There’s a little water settling on my brain at this time, so I’m breaking away from the others by not going to any of the old basins like OUR and HPA (Hear Paulwell Announce).
Mr Editor, how can I find Mr Michael Williams, if he has any gas left in him? What can we do by now and the 12th of April to relieve us of the taxation being imposed by these private barons of serfdom? Have you seen what the supermarket owners and the merchants are doing with the markup of old items? HELP!
MILLS BLAKE
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The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) is urging the Office of Utilities Regulation
JAMAICA Public Service Company (JPS) will next month begin to roll out retail stores that will sell energy-saving products.
The light and power company says the initiative will kick-start a more ’empowering’ engagement with its customers going forward.
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Nicolette Hind shows off some of the eStore products during a promotion. |
“It’s actually the first time we are venturing into anything like this. We always supported and encouraged; what we are doing now is investing in empowerment, so we are going further,” Winsome Callum, JPS’s head of corporate communications, told Caribbean Business Report during an exclusive interview at the firm’s Ruthven Road, Kingston, outlet on Wednesday.
The new retail stores, branded “eStore”, will be located inside existing JPS customer service offices, with the first store scheduled to be opened on April 4 at the Ruthven Road outlet.
JPS will initially offer up to 40 different energy-savings products, including a variety of power efficient gadgets, timers and sensors, said the company’s director of sales and marketing, Garth McKenzie.
“Our products will fall into three major categories: equipment that will save energy, equipment that will protect your investment and equipment that will help you to understand your usages,” said McKenzie, noting that the company is targeting both the residential and corporate markets.
JPS has partnered with a number of overseas and local suppliers, including Nicorp Limited and its brand of surge protectors.
While items will be on sale, the stores will primarily focus on teaching consumers about energy consumption and how to save, McKenzie said.
“We will be consumed with looking for those things that can help people to change their habits and improve their energy efficiency. Energy efficiency has to be more than just wishing it; it needs some education, tools and gadgets,” said the sales and marketing executive.
JPS, which has 15 offices islandwide, will officially launch up to four ‘eStores’ before the end of the year, but will be offering the new services at all the locations. The company did not disclose how much money was being invested in the venture.
“We will be dressing up about two or three more locations (after Ruthven Road) by the end of the year. For the other dozen or so that won’t be dressed up, we will be branding the space to let people know that there is an eStore operation there,” McKenzie said.
JPS, for years, has had an uneasy relationship with the Jamaican public, who have become increasingly frustrated with high electricity bills and accuse the company of being rapacious. The relationship hit a low point two years ago when a wide cross-section of Jamaicans, including a government senator and an Opposition member of parliament at the time, joined a social network campaign and wore black in protest against exorbitant electricity bills from the energy provider.
McKenzie said the ‘eStore’ initiative is aimed at improving the company’s relationship with customers.
“We recognise that the value that JPS is giving is not matching up with the cost and this is an attempt to improve that value proposition,” McKenzie said.
“What people are unhappy with is the apparent lack of control that they have over their electricity bills,” he continued. “We are a business so we expect to earn money, but more importantly we need to have customers that are more empowered so that they are less disgruntled.”
JPS announced earlier this week that customers will see a 10 per cent hike in their electricity bills this month, largely due to higher fuel costs and the depreciation of the Jamaica dollar.
Against this background, Callum noted that different macroeconomic factors have made it now even more critical for Jamaicans to focus on energy savings. JPS wants to help consumers realise this goal, she said.
“People say they have tried conservation and they don’t see the results, so we want to help them to actually see results,” Callum noted.
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THE Jamaica Public Service (JPS) says customers will see a 10 per cent hike in their electricity bills this month, largely due to higher fuel costs and the depreciation of the Jamaica dollar.
“The high cost of the fuel bought from Petrojam to produce electricity, along with the continued devaluation of the Jamaican dollar, have resulted in an increase of approximately 10 per cent on customers’ March bills, relative to the bills they received in February,” the light and power company said in a release last night.
Mr. Paulwell said…
October 16, 2005
says he hopes to introduce net metering in Jamaica by the end of next month
“I’ve instructed the OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation) to finalise a
policy framework for net metering,” Sunday Observer.
– to date, no net metering
August 19, 2011
Amended and Restated All-Island Electric License 2011
Electricity Power Wheeling
Net Billing
October 19, 2012 Paulwell Blames JPS For Power-Wheeling Delay
– to date, no wheeling
February 12, 2012
has announced plans to set up a bipartisan energy council tasked with
achieving up to 62 per cent reduction in energy costs paid by households and
businesses – in 3 years
– to date, no reduction, no plans, no announcements
May 01, 2012
Net Billing
pilot programme limited to 2 years commencing no later than May 01, 2012 and
capped at an aggregate capacity of 2% of JPS
Monopoly light distributor Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) recorded close to US$15 million (J$1.4b) in foreign exchange losses last year, reflecting one of its worst currency shocks ever.
The amount shows the brutal impact of depreciation of the Jamaican dollar on one of the largest local companies.
The forex losses in the calendar year reflect mainly the increase in cost to service JPS’s borrowing.
The company disclosed US$14.8 million of forex losses in 2012 compared to US$3.2 million in 2011. The dip was based on the 7.3 per cent depreciation of the Jamaica dollar against the USD arising in part from uncertainty of an International Monetary Policy agreement. The dollar closed the JPS financial year ending December at J$92.98.
JPS unaudited 2012 financials did not significantly explain the forex losses, and queries to the company were unanswered up to press time. JPS listed the loss as a gain but then added the amount to other costs – indicating an error.
Previous audited financials explained that the power utility incurs foreign currency risk primarily on “purchases and borrowings” that are denominated in a currency other than the United States dollar.
“The company manages foreign exchange exposure by maintaining adequate liquidity resources in the appropriate currencies,” stated JPS in its 2011 financials.
The utility purchased US$777 million worth of fuel for the year ending December 2012 and holds US$353.5 million in long-term loans.
Last year’s forex loss was among the worst on record since the company assumed foreign ownership in 2001.
Five years ago, in 2008, when the currency lost 15 per cent of its value, the company recorded US$8 million in forex losses.
In periods before 2008, when the company reported its earnings in local currency, the foreign exchange losses were: J$1.9 billion in 2003; J$313 million in 2004; J$620 million in 2005; J$593 million in 2006; and J$807 million in 2008.
JPS is owned by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, 40 per cent; South-Korea-based Korea East-West Power (EWP), 40 per cent; Government of Jamaica, 19.9 per cent; while 3,000 shareholders own the remaining 0.1 per cent of the shares.
The utility reported net profit of US$12.7 million (J$1.18b) last year on sales of US$1.14 billion (J$106b).
Equity increased US$7.6 million to US$387 million (J$36b).
business@gleanerjm.com
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Densil Williams, Guest Columnist
It is no secret that Jamaica has a growth problem. For four decades, our average growth rate has hovered around 1%, while similar countries such as Singapore and Barbados grew in the rage of 6-8%. Their citizens now enjoy a higher standard of living as measured by their per-capita income than Jamaicans do.
Singapore has a per-capita income of more than US$43,000; Barbados’ per-capita income is around US$23,000, while Jamaica stands at around US$5,000. The disparity is even more alarming if one looks at the fact that these countries are all coming from roughly the same per-capita income of around US$390 in 1960. Indeed, for Jamaica to catch up, it has to grow its economy, full stop. Meandering along with 1% growth is not going to cut it.
However, it must be appreciated that economic growth is not an effortless task, especially for a small, open economy with so many structural problems and vulnerabilities. It is in this context that the discourse on growth in Jamaica has to take place. This article, and some of the others to come, will focus on various impediments to Jamaica’s growth over the last 50 years and also provide some insights into dealing with these challenges. The first issue that will be tackled is energy.
ENERGY AND GROWTH
The high cost of energy in Jamaica is clearly an inhibitor to economic growth. To grow the economy, Jamaica will have to increase the production of goods and services each year and sell these into the marketplace.
If people are buying Jamaican goods, the producers will be obliged to produce more. So, the greater the demand for a country’s goods and services, the greater the likelihood that the producers of those goods and services will increase their production. All other things being equal, the overall output of the country will be increased as well.
However, because of the high cost of energy, it is difficult for Jamaican goods to compete in the marketplace. Price competition, therefore, is not an option for Jamaican producers in the local and international marketplace. As such, Jamaican producers are at a disadvantage, as the majority of consumers are price sensitive. When they go to the stores, they will choose a product with a lower price, assuming all other factors remain constant.
While in the main it is accepted that Jamaican firms can be more efficient and cut wastage in order to reduce their cost structure and eventually compete at better prices, it is not always true that the high price of Jamaican products results from inefficiency at the firm level. The onerous burden that energy places on the cost structure of Jamaican firms cannot be overlooked when analysing price competitiveness in the marketplace.
Cement production is a good example of how high energy prices impact cost structure of an enterprise although the firm performs efficiently in other areas. To produce one ton of cement, Caribbean Cement Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Trinidad Cement Limited, uses roughly 102kWh of electricity, while in Trinidad, cement producers use 110kWh of electricity to produce the same ton of cement.
Carib Cement, however, pays US$0.30 per kilowatt-hour for electricity from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) – note, this is a preferential rate arrived at through negotiations – while cement producers in Trinidad pay US$0.03 per kilowatt-hour. As such, although the Jamaican plant is roughly 8% more efficient with the usage of electricity, it still faces a US$27 higher cost to produce the ton of cement.
The high price of energy in Jamaica is clearly a deterrent to increased production and, by extension, the future growth of the economy.
THE SOLUTION MIX
There will be no single solution to deal with the high cost of energy in Jamaica. What we all agree on is that we must reduce the exorbitant cost that consumers have to pay for this vital resource. For sure, there has to be greater efficiency on the part of the JPS in providing energy to its consumers. Its heat rate must be improved, similar to those of the private power producers; its system loss has to be improved; and most important, it has to use the most efficient technology to produce electricity for its consumers.
Indeed, the Energy Think Tank at the University of the West Indies, Mona, in its latest publication in the