Opposition Spokesman on Mining and Energy Phillip Paulwell says the new electricity tariff announced by the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) will cause hardship to domestic users, decrease business competitiveness, and force more illegal connections on the national grid.

“A one to two per cent increase granted by the OUR was unwarranted as most consumers are already experiencing an increase in their monthly bills due to staying at home more, increases in fuel prices, and IPP charges,” Paulwell said in a release issued by the People’s National Party this afternoon,

Paulwell’s comments come in the wake of the OUR’s announcement on Tuesday that it had granted an average 1.4 per cent increase to electricity bills that the JPS would begin implementing in September and would be visible on bills as of the end of this month.

According to Paulwell, the JPS is not losing money and has continued to gouge consumers throughout the COVID-19
pandemic.

Paulwell shared that matters have been made worse as citizens have had to utilise more power for work from home, online classes, and domestic appliances.

“The Government must, therefore, consider this pandemic-related consumption as a reason to ease the pressure on consumers. I am suggesting that we instead freeze electricity prices at current levels pending completion of the review,” he said.

Consequently, the Opposition said it was calling for the Government and the OUR to put the new rates on hold, pending a further review and clarification of several issues raised by the OUR in its decision.

Specifically, Paulwell referenced the OUR decision in its view that the JPS Heat Rate target for the tariff application was not in line with optimal economic generation dispatch. As a result, it adjusted the target. He said this raises serious questions, as the Heat Rate is used to determine efficiency levels in electricity generation.

Paulwell also raised the issue of the system losses target, which the OUR did not approve. He said Jamaicans could not afford the 23.8 per cent losses target specified in the 2019-2014 Rate Review JPS Determination Notice and that action must, therefore, be taken to reduce the system losses, including to electricity theft.

“As a reminder, it was this Government which discontinued the electricity theft reduction programme,” Paulwell
said.

The Opposition spokesman said while he was aware that the existing JPS licence provided for periodic rate reviews by the OUR, increases are not automatic, and applications must be subject to rigorous examination.

He said these two points raised by the OUR lead to concern about the company’s efficiency in power generation and distribution.

The PNP said the Government must explain why, although most of Jamaica’s electricity is now generated using LNG, prices have moved from US 22 cents per kilowatt-hour to almost US 30 cents in five years.

“Instead of benefitting from savings in the conversion from diesel fuel to LNG, it had instead combined with other company and national factors to drive electricity prices in one direction,” he said.

The Opposition warned that consumer patience was waning on energy prices as they have seen no positive results from either technology improvement or conservation efforts.