The Jamaica Public Service, JPS, light bill controversy has erupted into a full blown scandal this afternoon.
This after the utilities regulator, Office of Utilities Regulation, OUR, publicly revealed for the first time that the light and power monopoly, JPS, failed to advise it of the massive 32% increase in electricity bills.
This, despite knowing that it should advise the OUR of any increase of more than 5%
In a stunning revelation, the OUR has told Nationwide News that it became aware of the massive increases when the matter was brought to public attention by irate customers of the JPS.
Ricardo Brooks has more on this Nationwide News follow-up.
It’s often said that whatever is done in darkness must come to light.
The leadership of the Office of Utilities Regulation, OUR, has finally decided to shed some light on the deepening controversy. And in doing so it has revealed several unknowns. Unknowns that cast the entire episode into nothing short of a scandal.
On Tuesday of this week, the Chief Financial Officer of the Jamaica Public Service Company, Vernon Douglas, told this reporter and Cliff Hughes on Nationwide at Five that the company had advised the OUR of the pending 32% increase in customers’ electricity bills.
He says the OUR offered no objection.
But in an exclusive interview with Nationwide News on Friday, the Director General of the OUR , Ansord Hewitt, directly contradicted Douglas’ version of events.
In fact, he says the OUR became aware of the hike in electricity bills at the same time the general public did.
The revelation by the OUR comes after JPS was earlier this week forced to withdraw comments that it had advised the Finance Ministry of the massive increases in light bills.
The OUR’s admission effectively means not only was no member of the Holness administration told of the exorbitant light bills, but also the regulators of JPS. In addition, the board of JPS was also kept in the dark.
The ‘no tell’ decision of JPS is alarming given an existing framework that requires the light and power company to advise the OUR of any shock to the system which would result in a bill increase of more than 5%.
Hewitt explained the existing operating procedure this way.
Yet in this instance where there’s an increase six times that threshold, the OUR was never advised by JPS. Why not?
The OUR has disclosed that the usual approach to managing increases in excess of 5% would be to have the increases spread across multiple bills.
Hewitt struggled to provide a justification for the JPS’ deviation from the policy, which has existed as far back as 2021.
The OUR Director General says he’s perturbed by JPS’ failure to advise the OUR.
JPS has been given until the end of today, Friday, August 23, 2024, to explain the discrepancy.
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