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| New Kingston in Jamaica |
There are a number of issues that are top on the minds of many Jamaicans for 2022 and these issues are brought forward from 2021. The way things are going it seems that the problem of Covid-19, crime and high utility bills will be carried forward to 2022 and beyond. In this post I will take a look at the cost of electricity.
Many Jamaicans are now finding it difficult to pay their monthly electricity bills and this has to be the year when government has to take a look at this matter and come up with policies which can result in the benefit of the consumers. The following are some of the costs that will have an impact on our JPSCo bill. These are:
- Cost of fuel.
- Tariff structure
- Exchange Rate
- Taxation
- Fuel Charge
- Stealing of electricity
- Inefficiency in the system
I will not attempt to go into details about these costs because I believe that there are state agencies, consumer groups, lobby groups, the university and other institutions which should educate the society about this matter. They have the resources and the expertise to carry out the required research.
The Various Factors Making up That Cost
We should note also that for usage above 150 KWh the GCT kicks in at 15%. In recent months the exchange rate has not moved significantly so this has not had a significant impact on our JPSCo bills.
Based on the tariff structure for the usage of 100 KWh and below, the rate per KWh for December is JAD7.32 and above that usage, the rate per KWh is JAD21.03. It means that if you use 100 KWh in December the energy cost will be JAD732 but if you jump to 200 KWh the cost will increase to JAD2835.00. This gives you an idea why your bill can increase significantly in one month as a result of the tariff structure. If you use twice the amount then you would expect the energy cost to move to under JAD1500.00 but this is not so due to the increase in cost above the usage of 100 KWh.
The fuel charge per KWh moved from JAD25.878 in November 2021 to JAD33.008 for December 2021. That is a whopping 28% increase.
It is interesting to note that the Independent Power Producers (IPP) charge move from JAD9.640 in November 2021 to JAD11.270 in December 2021.
Conclusions
Based on this basic analysis it should be clear to you that even if you consumed less electricity in December you would end up paying more for your JPSCo bill.
Recommendations
- Get all householders who now receive electricity illegally to have their homes wired and approved for the supply of electricity. Subsidize electricity so that all residences pay a flat rate of 2000 for electricity up to 150 KWh. All these persons should register using the NIDs under a plan to have all persons on the JPSCo grid legally.
- Encourage the use of prepaid meters
- Have social workers work with and offer counselling to families who are now stealing electricity.
- Remove the monopoly on the distribution of electricity.
- Remove all restrictions so that the independent power producers (IPPs) can equip themselves to produce electricity at a lower costs.
- Review the fuel taxes with the aim of reducing the taxes on fuel.
- Commit persons to at least five years hard community work for stealing electricity in the first instance, 5 years imprisonment if convicted a second time with hard labour and a third conviction should lead to life sentence in prison.
JPS bills are crazy. Respective governments have failed to protect the interests of Jamaicans. Utilities need to be affordable for the majority of the people
ReplyDeleteremove the monopoly
ReplyDeleteMy sister's bill moved from 3600 to 11400 and mine moved from 3600 to 5200 when I am using more electricity than her. How would JPS explains that?
ReplyDelete2+4=10 JPS! It doesn't add up!
Mr Derby good morning JPS need competition they send me a bill almost $8000 to pay this month I do nothing different for Christmas I live alone they are sending people to go and thief light because them high light bill here where the money coming from to pay it
ReplyDeleteGovernment needs to look at this one now. First thing is to see how they can eliminate the stealing of electricity and ensure that good customers benefit.
DeleteJPS is not serious about the persons who are stealing electronic, they call them the "little people"
ReplyDeleteJPS is a modern day Robin hood, they are lazy because it is easier for them to charge the persons who are already paying rather than go out there and sanction/ enforce/ regulate the people who obviously are illegally attaching wires. It is a open secret because those lights burn right through the day.
It pains my heart.
No matter the circumstances JPS will continue to be cruel
ReplyDeleteIt is time that we realize that this is not just about JPSCo. Our leaders have to act. The JPS operates in a very regulated environment.
DeleteOne of the things I learned as a trained teacher that stuck with me is " to he ave order in a classroom you must create an environment that enables that".
ReplyDeleteI transfer that to a country if yo have an environment oppressive or otherwise disorganized where people cannot reasonably and legally provide the basic amenities for themselves something I recall one of our well studied social Anthropologists Edward Seaga calls "Creative Individualism" chips in and manifests in several ways eg informal extraction of water,electricity,scamming etc reinforced by folk heroes like Br Anancy and Br Tacuma so many of us become professional human Puss or Man-goose.
Many of our leaders lack the capacity for holistic thinking where the basic fact that one thing leads to another.
The society is much like the human body everything is linked.For clarity you have joined up organs in the body where let's say your kidney function is also dependent on your heart,lungand nerve functioning.
A society is no different everything is dependent on each other.
Do not forget our embedded culture of "Creative Individualism" I am not justifying illegal acts but look critically at how our society is organized to facilitate disorder.Do not believe the nonsense that Jamaicans are inherently indisciplined not true we are normal human beings like any other and have become very creative to survive.
Look at the trajectory of primitive man to what is now dubbed modern man.
Thanks for the JPS update and unhiding of how JPS bills are stacked against honest paying customers Vernon. It's very unfair how the rates are killing people who use honest electricity.
ReplyDeleteIt's those who steal run more appliances than I even hope to own.
So glad to see OUR standing up for customers. Claw back the Foreign Exchange overcharge which would have gone undetected.
It's way easier for JPS to tax us the paying customers than tackle the unpaying ones, it's really unfair to us, always trying to conserve to no avail, while their blubs and electronics run all day.so unfair, it must stop 🛑
ReplyDelete