The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has made changes to the guaranteed standards (GS) scheme for the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) and National Water Commission (NWC).
These changes will see the national utility regulator reducing the number of GS for JPS’s postpaid service from 17 to 14, while the NWC threshold moves up from 15 to 17.
Two new standards related to JPS’s prepaid metering service will be introduced. These are EPMS 3 and EPMS 4.
According to the OUR, the former addresses the timeliness of meter replacement, requiring the light-and-power company to verify and replace defective meters within 48 hours when the supply is disrupted and 20 working days when the supply is not disrupted.
EPMS 4 addresses the timeframe within which the electricity supply becomes available after a successful top-up.
JPS is required to ensure that the kilowatt/hour amount purchased is available to the customer within five minutes, while accounts suspended for insufficient funds should be reinstated within 30 minutes of successful top-up.
These changes are set to take effect after the upcoming reviews of the anticipated five-year tariff application from both utility providers during the 2024-2025 financial year.
Guaranteed standards, as detailed by the OUR, are minimum service level agreements that utility companies must adhere to in safeguarding customer value. A GS breach results in a compensatory payment to the affected customer’s account.
Compensation for guaranteed standards breaches
The OUR has revised the NWC GS compensation level for all rate classifications to twice the monthly service charge for general compensation and three times the monthly service charge for special compensation.
The cap period of six consecutive breaches will continue to apply to NWC GS that attract special compensation and those with the highest incidents of breaches over the past five years.
The additional compensation cap period for all remaining GS will be reduced to three periods of non-compliance.
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