Vaz demands full roll back of increases on JPS bills

  

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says a complete roll back of the rate increase by the Jamaica Public Service Company is the only acceptable response to the outcry from members of the public.

 

This after the light and power company said the increase in July to August bills was due to a higher fuel charge and exchange rate.

 

Minister Vaz, who remains adamant that the JPS must do right by its customers, argues that his ministry believes there was a foul up on the part of the company.

 

JPS had indicated that a switch from liquified natural gas (LNG) to the more expensive automotive diesel oil (ADO), to protect its equipment ahead of Hurricane Beryl, contributed to the increase.  

 

But the minister said checks done revealed that the only power plant to have used automotive diesel oil, the South Jamaica Power Company, did so for roughly five days - which is not enough to warrant a massive rate increase.

 

Minister Vaz said the liquified natural gas supplier, the New Fortress Energy plant, was decommissioned on July 1 but was recommissioned by July 6.

 

In light of this and the 91 per cent reduction on special consumption tax on automotive diesel oil for July, he is questioning the quantity of fuel used by JPS during that period.

 

According to Mr. Vaz, there are several other questions that JPS needs to answer. 

 

"Our in-house calculations have revealed that there are discrepancies in the calculations being represented in several JPS bills. Our worst case scenario calculations suggest that a 6 per cent increase in electricity bills would be expected. I reject the assertion given by JPS that the cost of ADO fuel is the reason for the increased bills being sent to Jamaicans. And I urge them to recalculate...and get it right."  

 

The billing exchange rate moved from 0.8 per cent or $1.23 between July and August, said Mr. Vaz, who noted that, month over month, this is not the largest increase for the April to August period. "In other words, the month to month impact of the exchange rate is not as severe as JPS is attempting to have customers believe," he argued. 

 

In a release on Monday, JPS said the fuel charge on August bills is $32.17 per kilowatt hour compared with the $24.33 on July bills.

 

The Billing Exchange Rate on bills moved from $156.30 in July, to $157.53 cents in August.

 

JPS said the fuel charge that customers see on their bills is heavily influenced by the actual costs associated with purchasing the automotive diesel oil fuel used to generate electricity for the period, to protect its New Fortress Energy plant from damage.

 

In the meantime, Minister Vaz also took aim at the level of oversight by the Office of Utilities Regulation, arguing that the entity should have investigated the cause for such an anomaly in the fuel rate provided by JPS, since no information was provided to suggest that the power company had to operate using ADO for a prolonged period. 

 

He said there will be a full review of the OUR's regulatory framework to ensure greater oversight of utility companies.