Phillip Paulwell Calls for Hold on Light Bill Increase

Opposition Spokesperson on Energy, Phillip Paulwell is calling for a hold on the light bill increase, this as the Office of Utilities Regulation’s, (OUR) announcement that electricity costs will increase on Tuesday, September 15, the public has been reacting with frustration.

Come October, the Jamaica Public Service Company, (JPS) customers will be seeing a 1.4% increase to their electricity bill. An increase which has compounded the other increases that have been seen in various sectors since the past two months.

The OUR made a decision to accept the 1.4% after JPS initially suggested an increase of 3.5%. The decision has not gone down well in many quarters, with the opposition Peoples National Party, (PNP) saying the increase comes at the most inopportune time; Phillip Paulwell says this is a very unconscionable move.

Specifically, Paulwell referenced the OUR’s decision in its view that the JPS heat rate target for the tariff application was not in line with optimal economic generation dispatch. He said this raises serious questions, as the heat rate is used to determine efficiency levels in electricity generation.

In the meantime, citizens continue to call on the Government to delay the increase

More in this CVM Live story from Paige Dixon: