EDITORIAL - Avoid a show over JPS bills

MR CLIVE Mullings, the energy minister, means well. And there is the bonus of a government trailing in opinion surveys and having to face voters in a year's time doing something that will be popular with consumers: appearing to stand up on their behalf to a big, bad utility.

Other than that, we can see little practical value in the government's plan, disclosed by Mr Mullings on Nationwide Radio on Tuesday, to hold a commission of enquiry into the billing practices of Jamaica Public Service (JPS), which has a monopoly for the transmission and distribution of electricity in Jamaica. JPS also generates up to 60 per cent of the electricity consumed in Jamaica.

Formerly owned by the Jamaican government, JPS has for a long time not been a favourite of Jamaican consumers. It used to be because of its unreliability in the supply of power, reflected in frequent outages and load shedding - a problem that was largely solved by privatisation and allowing independent power producers into the market.

These days, the complaints against JPS relate primarily to high electricity bills and poor customer service, including claims that it abuses its monopoly status.

The cost of power in Jamaica is, of course, a major cause of concern. As this newspaper and others have consistently argued, energy is a potential game-changer for the Jamaican economy. At nearly US$0.40 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity, which accounts for a significant portion of their cost of production, Jamaican firms are in an uphill struggle to compete with their regional counterparts.

There are two main reasons for the high cost of energy in Jamaica. First, JPS operates mostly old, inefficient power plants that burn expensive oil. Second, the price of oil has seen a sharp upward spiral in recent years, for which consumers have to pay.

Fixing these problems depends, largely, on government policy, starting with a decision on the cheaper fuels that will be sanctioned for the firing of the majority of Jamaican power plants. This should be buttressed by a clear process for the construction/conversion of new, efficient plants that will burn these cheaper fuels.

There are, nonetheless, consumer complaints against JPS that go beyond these structural and policy issues that, when stripped to their core, are accusations of either operational incompetence, or downright skulduggery, or both - such as when bills show higher and higher consumption in the face of the most robust efforts at conservation.

Fundamental question

The most fundamental question to answer, though, is how JPS goes about billing. That is a technical matter, relating to the efficiency with which it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and the accuracy of its meters. These are not matters to be resolved by a quasi-judicial hearing. It demands independent technical analysis.

This is among what the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is expected to do as part of its mandate of ensuring "the interests of consumers are ... protected".

If we want this investigation to be played out in public, the OUR has power here, too. It can hold public hearings into the performance of the utilities it regulates.

Our advice to Minister Mullings is that he urge the OUR to get on with its job and buckle down to his, of getting a credible energy policy.

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