OUR to meet with JPS as restoration deadline ends
Published:Monday | August 12, 2024 | 6:03 PM
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) will meet with the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) tomorrow following the August 12 expiration of the deadline to provide full restoration of electricity supply to its customers, 'subject to the inaccessibility issues faced in the areas specified as exceptions', following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3.
According to the JPS's most recent restoration schedule, which was issued on August 9, power supply to over 13,000 customers across the island has yet to be restored.
On July 31, the OUR issued a directive to JPS to enforce strict compliance with the company's latest schedule for returning electricity supply to customers affected by Hurricane Beryl by August 12.
“As the regulator, the OUR has an obligation to protect the interests of electricity consumers, being mindful of the service provider's responsibility to ensure the reliability, adequacy, safety, and efficiency of the service that it provides to the public,” the agency said in a press release today.
“The OUR has already requested JPS to provide a written report by the end of day 2024 August 13 of the status of compliance with the directive. Following its meeting with JPS and receipt of the status report, the OUR will review the company's response and outcome of its own surveillance/monitoring activities to determine the next steps.”
Failure by JPS to comply with an OUR directive within the time specified could render it liable to enforcement action, pursuant to section 9 of the Office of Utilities Regulation Act (OUR Act). This section stipulates that:
'Any licensee or specified organisation which fails to comply with the requirements of a memorandum issued by the Office under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine not exceeding two million dollars.'
In applying the enforcement provision under section 9, the OUR's actions are guided by the provisions of the OUR Act and the judicial process.
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