JPS has option to negotiate with gov't on new licensing terms - Vaz

 

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has the option to start negotiating with the government on new electricity licensing terms. 

 

The government says it will not renew the Jamaica Public Service Company's distribution licence when it expires on July 8, 2027. 

 

Mr. Vaz says the government's position is not adversarial, but he says he will seek to get the best deal for the Jamaican population.

 

"I have now put the ball in JPS's court. JPS has the option to respond to me in a positive way or to say to me, okay, let's start negotiating the exit. I'm not going to preempt what they are going to do. They've just got the letter, so we will give them time. But the fact of the matter is that I'm not tied to any negotiation singularly with JPS, which is the whole point of what I have done." said the minister, who was speaking Thursday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines. 

 

Opposition Spokesman on Energy and Climate Change, Phillip Paulwell, wants the government to reveal the content of the letter sent to the Jamaica Public Service Company regarding its decision not to renew the electricity licence.

 

"Because I still can't understand why the JPSCo would have 'grave' concerns on a notice by the government that they wish to negotiate for new licensing terms. Because all of this was expected. I had given the government notice from 2023 that it's imminent, and up to this year, I addressed that," he insisted.