JPS not ruling out job cuts
Published:Tuesday | December 9, 2008 | 12:53 PM
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) said it is not ruling out job cuts as it grapples with the effects of the global financial crisis.
The chairman of the JPS, Tomo-fumi Fukuda, said his company is forced to consider cost saving measures as the financial crunch deepens.
He said there are no immediate plans for a staff cut.
He said to compound the impacts of the international crisis, the JPS has not been seeing an increase in sales.
However, the light and power company has brought on 10,000 new customers onto the national grid.
Electricity theft is among the reasons for the failure of the JPS to increase revenue from sales although it’s getting more customers.
Under the current tariff, the Office of Utilities Regulation permits the JPS to recover 15.8 percent of total electricity losses through customer charges.
The company is losing 22.7 percent of the electricity it produces.
10 percent is estimated to be technical losses, which mean that 12.7 percent is due to theft.
The JPS is losing US$17.25 million or J$1.29 billion a year because of theft.