Media and Other Stakeholders,
OUR Amends JPS and NWC Guaranteed Standards
(KINGSTON, Jamaica; 2024 March 20): The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has made significant changes to the Guaranteed Standards (GS) scheme for the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) and the National Water Commission (NWC).
The Guaranteed Standards are minimum service level agreements between the OUR and the utility entities to ensure value to customers. A breach of a Guaranteed Standard results in a compensatory payment to the affected customer’s account.
The changes will take effect after the upcoming reviews of the anticipated Five-Year Tariff application from both utility providers, which are expected during the 2024-2025 financial year.
The OUR has reduced the number of GS for JPS’s post-paid service from seventeen (17) to fourteen (14) and from seventeen (17) to fifteen (15) for the NWC.
For JPS, two (2) new standards related to its prepaid metering service will be introduced. These are EPMS 3 and EPMS 4. The former addresses the timeliness of meter replacement, requiring the 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 must 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.
Compensation for Guaranteed Standards Breaches
The OUR has revised the NWC GS compensation level for all rate classifications to two (2) times the monthly Service Charge for General Compensation and three (3) times the monthly Service Charge for Special Compensation.
The cap period of six (6) 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 (5) years. The additional compensation cap period for all remaining GS will be reduced to three (3) periods of non-compliance.
The mechanism to be used to determine compensatory payment for breaches …
Contact: OUR’s Public Affairs Unit – 876-968-6053 orpublicaffairs@our.org.jm
