OUR to purchase new HQ
Published:Friday | January 20, 2012 | 12:00 AM
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) plans to invest up to J$60 million to purchase and develop a new office for a staff of 54, and free itself of the J$1.3 million it pays in rental charges.
The regulator says it has exhausted its floor space on the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) building in New Kingston.
"The OUR requires additional office space to better accommodate its staff, for a proper conference room, and for an adequate service area for its consumer customers. There is no possibility of acquiring the additional needed space at its current location in the PCJ Resource Centre building; furthermore, the OUR considers the cost of rental to be uncompetitive," said the agency's annual budget released this month.
The OUR pays J$15 million per annum for office rental, which does not include parking and other expenses.
The agency projects its rental bill will rise to J$21.3 million for fiscal year 2012-13, or J$1.8 million per month, according to its Management Accountability Framework Business Plan and Budget 2012.
"Consequently, the OUR will be preparing a proposal for the purchase of an appropriately sized and located office building. Preliminary estimates are that such a building should cost in the region of J$50-60 million, and would thus pay for itself in about four to five years, resulting thereafter in considerable savings to stakeholders," said the OUR.
The OUR told the Financial Gleaner this week that it is yet to identify a site for its new home.
The OUR currently regulates the telecommunications, electricity and water sectors, as well as bus fares on a budget of J$532 million or five per cent more than the previous year.