OUR to probe impact of JPS office closures on customer experience

A scientific study is to be undertaken to examine the claims by scores of Jamaicans who continue to complain that the closure, in recent years, of several Jamaica Public Service (JPS) offices islandwide has negatively impacted them.W

Since 2021, the JPS has closed 10 offices across the island, and the company now offers more technologically based services through its MyJPS mobile app and World Wide Web page.

According to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), the scientific study will be undertaken between the last quarter of 2023 into 2024 to determine whether customers’ needs are still being met in light of the closures.

The OUR will also be conducting this assessment in two phases.

Phase one has been completed, with a report compiled with several recommendations that was shared and discussed with the JPS.

Speaking on Wednesday during the OUR’s Central Focus engagement, which was geared at the business and community interests in St Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon, OUR Director General Ansord Hewitt said people are upset that the JPS has closed offices and that a consultant has already been procured to conduct the research.

“Apart from the handling of individual customer issues, a consumer affairs unit also investigates issues which impact a broad cross section of customers. One such is JPS’ closure of some of its parish offices across the island, including in St Elizabeth and Clarendon,” Hewitt said.

“It’s a matter that we have been giving attention to since 2021. We have done our own assessment on the impact of this. We’ve shared that with JPS, but we are also going to do a second phase, which is a scientific assessment. We’re taking the last quarter of 2023 to 2024 to ascertain whether the alternatives that have been provided, where these closures have taken place, meet the need of customers,” he said.

On the other hand, he balanced the blows by reminding consumers, who do not like to pay their monthly expenses to the JPS but expect the services to pay their bills.

“I must emphasise that customers also have responsibilities in this effort. You have a responsibility to pay your bills on time and in full; to not steal electricity and water ... and report, where it comes to your attention, vandalism on utilities networks,” Hewitt said.

“We all have a role to play in improving the utility sector, and I remain optimistic that we’re getting there,” he said.

Floyd Green, minister of agriculture, fisheries and mining and member of parliament for St Elizabeth South Western – an area that has long been complaining about being disregarded by utility companies, especially the National Water Commission and the telecoms service providers – said he was hopeful that the OUR’s Central Focus engagement on Wednesday would be the first of many sessions to come.

“I know you’ve [the OUR] taken a regional approach, but I will suggest that you also do some parish-based initiatives. I think this is a good start. It’s very important that as consumers, citizens, persons who have to engage our utility companies, that the OUR is there with the requisite information and also there when we need to raise the various concerns that we are having,” Green said.

“I thank the utility companies for participating. I have shared my own sense of challenges that we have been having in South West St Elizabeth with all the utility companies that are on the call, from regular outages and low voltage in Treasure Beach,” he said.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com