Director of Corporate Communications at the Jamaica Public Service Company, JPS, Winsome Callum, says the massive rise in electricity bills for the August period is primarily driven by an increase in fuel charges.
Ms. Callum appeared on Nationwide@5 on Monday to respond to the wave of backlash from customers reacting to the increase in their latest light bills.
As we hear in this report from Mahiri Stewart, JPS customers were not told to brace for an increase.
According to Winsome Callum, JPS had to transition from using liquefied natural gas, LNG, to automotive diesel oil, ADO, before Hurricane Beryl impacted sections of the country on July 3.
The JPS Director of Corporate Communications says the fuel switch resulted in a more than 30% increase in charges.
Ms. Callum says JPS had to use a more expensive fuel ADO to generate electricity for approximately one week in July.
Ms. Callum admits that the excessive increase in electricity bills is “really unfortunate,” especially at a time when customers are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Beryl.
She also concedes that there could’ve been improved communication from JPS regarding the increase in electricity bills.
However, Ms. Callum maintains the specific amount in charges was not known by the company in advance.
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