The Office of Utilities Regulation, OUR, has directed the Jamaica Public Service Company, JPS, to reduce and re-issue bills to some customers.
The utility regulator says JPS must reduce bills in the next billing period and also re-issue August bills with zero consumption that do not show a corresponding zero money value.
In a statement issued on Friday, the OUR says it has started an investigation into the wave of complaints about the massive 32% increase in electricity bills issued to customers for the August billing period.
The OUR says once the relevant information has been received from the JPS and analysed, it will determine what, if any, remedies are necessary.
The OUR has written to JPS seeking clarity about several issues surrounding the current hike in electricity bills.
This includes how it was executed given the OUR’s responsibility to approve non-fuel and fuel rates as stipulated in Schedule 3 of JPS’s Electricity Licence, 2016.
The OUR says it has directed the light and power company to reduce customers’ September bills 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.
The OUR adds that its investigation into the 2024 August billing will include, but not be limited to, an examination of the dispatch of generating plants during the period.
It will also probe any applicable system operating constraints during system operation in July.
The regulator will assess the basis for the substitution of Automotive Diesel Oil, ADO, for natural gas and the effect of the government tax waiver on its pricing.
The mechanisms to minimise the rate hikes in one-off situations will also be probed.
The OUR anticipates that it will wrap up its investigation promptly and will engage with JPS to agree on the treatment of any verifiable increases that are appropriate.
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