JPS to defer full increase on May bills

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) says customers will be spared the full increase in their electricity bills this month.

In a media release yesterday, the JPS said it will not be passing on the full cost of oil to customers this month because of the difficult economic situations some customers may face.

"We are acutely aware of the difficult economic environment and the hardships being experienced by our customers," President and CEO Damian Obiglio said.

"That's why we have decided to defer the implementation of the full fuel charge as a direct pass-through on customers' bills in May," he added.

The JPS said this means that only a portion of the cost of the oil used in electricity generation last month will be immediately passed on to the customers, and the balance will be applied in subsequent months, when oil prices start to trend downwards.

"The full fuel charge would have sent bills up by about 10 per cent this month; however, because we are passing on only a portion of the increase at this time, customers' bills will go up by 4.35 per cent instead," Obiglio said.