Jamaican News

JPS Owes Customers $75 Million For Breach Of Guaranteed Standards

February 3, 2021 | By Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie |

A row has broken out with the Utility Regulator and the Power Company regarding a request for the suspension of certain Breaches of agreed guaranteed standards.  The JPS has acknowledged that there is a problem with the honouring of payments for these breaches.  Due to COVID 19 the light and power monopoly wants a suspension of these standards.  This is for 35, 000 breaches. The Light and Power monopoly is claiming that the pandemic has restricted the company’s ability to honour these standards.

What is a Guaranteed Standard?

There has been an agreement between the Utility and the Regulator representing the consumers regarding certain service standards. For example:. Wrongful disconnection should be reconnected within a certain time of notification to the company of this breach, application for new service must be done within a certain time frame,  repairs must effected within a certain time frame, there should be not more than two estimated bills sent to a customer … and the list goes on. All these breaches attract monetary compensation in the form of credit to the customers’ bills. This has amounted to 75 million dollars and is owing to customers.

Furious

The company is furious that The Office Of Utility Regulations (OUR) aka Regulator decided to go public on the issue.

Winsome Callum, Director of Customer Experience, JPS:

We object to the public utterances by the OUR. The problem is Our’s issue of the statement … the timing of it. It is really about the timing. JPS has to await the Regulator and the Ministry of Energy. It was about mid year when the request for suspension of these standards were last communicated back to us from the Energy Ministry. We as a company has allowed relaxation of certain things to the customer. In short they gave customers a break.

Asked why not ask for an extension of time for these standards? There are 17 standards. Our compliance is 96 percent. Due to reconnections and other breaches.

Aren’t your workers treated as an essential service?

Yes,  but we had to protect our workers from the pandemic like social distancing.

Your workers don’t have to enter customer premises to say effect disconnections?

There are about 60 percent of smart metres.

68,000 customers were affected. There are provisions in the regulations and in law that clearly state that an application can be made to seek relief. Everything that we do is regulated. We cannot take on to our selves to withhold funds to consumers. The question is why has it taken so long for the ministry of Energy to adjudicate on the matter? To be fair there has been communication between the parties on the request. For example: Last quarter 2020 the Ministry of Energy wrote to the JPS seeking additional information or clarification on their request for relief on the guaranteed standards.

The timeliness of reconnections is one of the breached standards.

Commentary

The fact that the OUR has gone public is significant.  This disclosure should not be dismissed as a slip up. It sends an important signal to all concerned where the OUR stands on the issue. This is a marked departure from the OUR’s modus operandi. Food for thought. We will examine this exposure in more detail in an upcoming perspective.  Stay tuned to this space.

Personal

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is a consumer advocate who served on the Consumer Advisory Committee On Utilities (CACU) … an independent advocate body with the blessing of the OUR.

We await the outcome. Will a compromise be reached? Will it be in the best interest of the consumer?  Time will tell.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is also a veteran journalist who has International exposure.

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