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Former Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says Jamaica’s parliament should increase fines under the Office of the Utility Regulator Act following news that the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) will face a $2 million fine if it fails to meet an August 12 deadline to restore power across the country.
JPS has come under tremendous public pressure after failing to restore power to several communities across the country following Hurricane Beryl’s arrival more than a month ago.
There have been several protests on the island, the latest in St. Elizabeth, where the power company said it would take until August 31 to restore full power.
The parish was one of the areas hardest hit when the storm passed through southern Jamaica on July 3. The JPS said the parish’s infrastructure was virtually destroyed.
Yesterday, Opposition energy spokesman Paulwell said the $2 million figure was The Gleaners The fines reported a week ago were not enough. He said the law must be changed to impose tougher fines.
In addition, he wants the Electricity Act 2015 to be reviewed and amended to include emergency clauses.
He said this would allow the creation of an agency separate from the Office of Utility Regulation (OUR) to handle disasters, including assessments, recommendations to utilities and penalties such as suspensions.
A week ago, OUR warned JPS that if power was not fully restored by August 12, action would be taken against the company under Section 9 of the OUR Act.
There are some exceptions to the directives issued.
Violations of Section 9 may result in court action and fines of up to $2 million.
“A slap in the face of the people”
However, Powell, who served as finance minister during the Portia Simpson Miller administration from 2012 to 2016, said the current OUR Act does not clearly stipulate whether the fine should be calculated on a daily basis or should be imposed as a daily penalty.
“So I think the fine is probably over $2 million, and for every day that (recovery delay) occurs, there will be a separate fine. I mean, I think the law allows for daily fines, so this can’t just be a one-time thing,” Paulwell said.
“But in any case, we do need to increase the fine from $2 million (even if it is calculated on a daily basis) to something more severe.”
He noted that utilities regulator OUR was powerless in terms of fines for breaches of the legislation and said he had been in dialogue with the agency.
“I told them I support anything that increases penalties,” Powell said.
At the same time, he also criticized JPS for failing to meet previous repair deadlines.
He said the JPS announcement to delay the restoration of parts of St Elizabeth’s Church was an “insult” to the people of the parish.
“I urge the JPS to actually do it next time they set a timetable, unlike this time, where the timetable was not only communicated to the government but also to the OUR. The fact is that the OUR had set the timetable, so they were in breach of the rules, which is why I think these penalties should actually be per diem penalties,” Paulwell said.
On Thursday, JPS reported that all parishes except St. Elizabeth will be fully restored by Aug. 12.
It is reported that 98% of customers have had their power restored after Hurricane Beryl passed through.
Energy Minister Daryl Vaz confirmed Thursday that about 16,000 customers were still without power.
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