OUR hands are tied
• Paulwell wants lawmakers to increase fines regulator can impose for breaches • Agency bound by $2-million penalty on JPS if it misses August 12 deadline
Published:Saturday | August 10, 2024 | 12:10 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
Former Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says it is time the Jamaican Parliament increases fines under the Office of Utilities Regulation Act after a revelation that the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is facing a $2-million penalty if it does not meet the August 12 deadline for a countrywide power restoration.
JPS has come under heavy public pressure over its failure to restore electricity in several communities across the country following the passage of Hurricane Beryl just over a month ago.
There have been several protests across the island, with the latest staged in St Elizabeth where the power company said full electricity will not be restored until August 31.
The parish was one of the most severely impacted when the storm passed south of Jamaica on July 3. JPS said its infrastructure was near ruined in the parish.
Yesterday, Paulwell, the opposition spokesman on energy, said the $2-million figure which The Gleaner reported on a week ago is inadequate. He said the law must be amended to impose a stiffer fine.
Further, he wants a review and amendment of the Electricity Act, 2015, that would allow emergency provisions to be inserted.
He said this will enable the establishment of a body separate from the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to deal with disasters which would include assessments, recommendations for utilities and penalties which would be suspensions.
The OUR, a week ago, warned JPS that it would take action against the company under section 9 of the OUR Act if full electricity restoration is not achieved by August 12.
There were some exceptions to the directive issued.
Breaches of section 9 may result in court action and a fine of up to $2 million.
‘SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE PEOPLE’
However, Paulwell, who served as portfolio minister during the Portia Simpson Miller administration between 2012 and 2016, said the current OUR Act is not definitive on whether the fine is set or should be treated as daily penalty.
“So, I believe it could be more than $2 million and each day it (restoration delay) occurs, it’s a separate penalty. What I’m saying is that it cannot be just a one off when I believe the law allows for daily penalties,” said Paulwell.
“But in any event, we do need to update that fine from $2 million, even if it is daily to a much more substantial penalty.”
He noted that the OUR, the utilities regulatory body, has its hands tied in terms of the fine attached to breaches of the legislation and said that he has been in dialogue with the entity.
“I have told them that I would support any measures to increase the penalty,” said Paulwell.
In the same breath, he criticised JPS over its failure to meet previous restoration deadlines.
He said JPS’s announcement of a delay in restoration for some sections of St Elizabeth is a “slap in the face of the people” in the parish.
“I am urging the JPS, when next they set a timeline, to make it real, unlike this one which was communicated not only to the Government but to the OUR. In fact, the OUR had imposed the timeline, so they are in breach and that’s why I believe that these penalties really ought to be daily penalties,” said Paulwell.
On Thursday, JPS reported that it was on track to meet full restoration for all parishes, except St Elizabeth, by August 12.
It said electricity has been restored to 98 per cent of its customers following Beryl’s passage.
Energy Minister Daryl Vaz confirmed on Thursday that approximately 16,000 customers are still without electricity.