POWER STRUGGLE

Accusing the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) of disconnecting the electricity of paying customers to combat thievery, Opposition Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Eastern Julian Robinson is calling for the Government’s intervention in what he says is an “unjust” act.

Robinson on Tuesday slammed the power company, reporting that at least three communities within his constituency and scores islandwide are affected by the JPS policy.

The legislator told Parliament that between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily, some communities are without power as JPS seeks to punish illegitimate beneficiaries.

“It is manifestly unfair and unjust to penalise paying customers by turning off the light every single day,” Robinson stressed.

He said that this has been the case for months and has been across the board in many communities.

Winsome Callum, director of corporate communications at JPS, denied the allegations that the company’s technicians carried out a policy of turning off power in retribution against electricity thieves.

Callum said, however, that there were devices configured in its infrastructure to trip when usage soared above certain levels.

JPS has called for the Government to establish a special utility court to prosecute electricity thieves, citing power theft of US$200 million being a drain on its resources. Approximately US$150 million has been spent in the last five years to reduce electricity theft.

It is believed that apathy from political representatives and the security forces has aided and abetted the practice, especially in dense, inner-city-type communities.

Robinson, however, argued that the Government, which owns 20 per cent of the company, should not accept what he said has become a JPS policy.

At the same time, he chided the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), the industry regulator, for taking what he perceived to be a passive approach to the crisis.

“The OUR has to take a stronger stance. I have constituents’ children who can’t access online school because the light turn off every day,” the lawmaker said.

“I have people who have to work from home and they can’t work from home because the light turn off every day.”

Robinson got support from his opposition colleague Anthony Hylton, who represents St Andrew Western. Hylton suggested that JPS was committing a wrong in, as he believed, trying to exact judgement on power thieves. Several communities in his constituency, including Riverton City, have been flagged for the high incidence of electricity abstraction.

“It’s really collective punishment, and I believe that we really ought to be looking at a class-action matter because those persons who are contracted and paying their bills should not be suffering because others are not,” Hylton told legislators.

“Let us focus on those who are not paying their bills and try to find the solution. And as has been said before, the wiring of the houses can help a great deal and we’ve been waiting to see how we move going forward.”

Robinson said also that Energy Minister Daryl Vaz must lead efforts to resolve the contentious matter.

The St Andrew South East MP said that electricity theft remained constant islandwide because the necessary channels to foster legitimacy are sometimes not available.

“If you don’t own your property, you can’t get a meter. If your landlord doesn’t give you a letter, you can’t get a meter. So in many of the urban areas, inner-city communities where there is squatting, the people can’t legitimately get a JPS meter,” he said.

The OUR said on Monday it had received complaints of frequent, “prolonged” power outages from several communities. This includes neighbourhoods in Clarendon, Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine and Trelawny.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com