(KINGSTON, JAMAICA, 2024 August 23) The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has instructed the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) to reduce some customers’ bills in the next billing period and re-issue those bills issued in August with zero consumption that do not show a corresponding zero money value.
The scale and extensiveness of the JPS bill increase for August came to the OUR’s attention after the utility began to dispatch the bills and customers started to complain about high electricity charges.
In 2021 the OUR communicated to JPS that it viewed any average increase in overall rates in excess of 5% to be a rate or bill shock; a situation that should be avoided. Previously, in one-off spikes, the regulatory treatment is that the additional cost to customers was spread over several months to mitigate the effects on customers.
The OUR has commenced an investigation into the current billing complaints. Once the relevant information has been received from the JPS and analysed, the OUR will determine what, if any, remedies are necessary.
Pending the outcome of its investigation, the OUR has written to JPS, explaining that within the context of the current hike in electricity bills, how it was executed, and given the OUR’s responsibility to approve non-fuel and fuel rates as stipulated in Schedule 3 of JPS’s Electricity Licence, 2016, it finds it necessary to direct the power company to reduce customer bills in 2024 September by the difference in JPS’s fuel cost in 2024 July over June. Additionally, the August bills with zero consumption that do not show a corresponding zero money value should be reissued.
Customers whose July – August JPS bills were higher than 5% of their May to June bills should…
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Office of Utilities Regulation
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Tel: 876-968-6053
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Contact OUR’s Public Affairs Unit: publicaffairs@our.org.jmor 876-968-6053.
