OUR casts doubt on JPS’s reason for closing 10 offices
Published:Sunday | November 10, 2024 | 12:06 AM
The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has raised concerns over the Jamaica Public Service’s (JPS) decision to close 10 customer service offices (CSOs), stating that the company’s claim of significantly reduced visits was “not substantiated” by usage records from 2018 to 2020.
JPS, the country’s main power provider, closed three CSOs in February 2020, followed by another seven in March 2021. The utility provider said, “less than 5 per cent of customers in these parishes conduct transactions in the offices”. Offices in several parishes St Thomas, Westmoreland, St Catherine, Clarendon, Kingston, St Mary, Portland, Trelawny, and Hanover were affected.
According to the regulator, JPS said that the COVID-19 pandemic “intensified the customer trend to use online services” and that “over 70% of customer contacts with JPS were received through its 24-hour Call Centre, webchat, social media, emails and the mobile app.”
The OUR started probing the issue in November 2021 and announced in December 2023 that phase one of the impact assessment was completed and it would be moving to the second phase.
The phase one findings indicated that “JPS’s assertion of significantly reduced customer visits to the CSOs was not substantiated by the customer CSO usage data reviewed for the period 2018-2020”, according to OUR’s annual report for 2023-2024, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on October 29. The figures were not included.
This discrepancy has prompted questions about the basis for JPS’s decision to prioritise digital channels over physical office locations.
Potential drawbacks
The report pointed to several potential drawbacks of JPS’s strategy, particularly for customers facing “prolonged Internet connectivity challenges” that may limit their access to JPS’s digital-only services.
With the closures, JPS implemented a suite of alternatives, such as a relaunch of its mobile offices, digital service promotions, and “proactive communication with customers to prevent the need for contact”.
But despite these efforts, the OUR noted, “the initiatives implemented by JPS are heavily weighted on customers’ usage of its digital channels and call centre”, raising concerns about access disparities.
For instance, certain customer services are now accessible only through the MyJPS App, a move the OUR argues may disadvantage individuals unable to use or access the app.
The report warns that “some customers may be disadvantaged where customer-related activities/requests are available only through the MyJPS App,” highlighting a gap in service accessibility for customers with limited digital literacy or internet reliability.
The OUR announced a phase two extension of its assessment to examine the closures’ “economic/financial impact” and how well JPS’s alternative methods are serving customers in parishes affected by the office shutdowns. It said the findings will provide a clearer picture of whether the closures ultimately serve customers’ best interests.
In a November 1 response to Sunday Gleaner follow-up questions, the regulator said it is reviewing the recently submitted findings, which will inform “our decision as to the nature and extent of regulatory intervention”.
The OUR explained that among the powers and functions under the OUR Act, is the authority for the OUR to “take measures it considers necessary or desirable to, among other things, protect the interest of consumers”.
In a statement to The Sunday Gleaner, the JPS said there are plans to open new satellite offices in partnership with local businesses, with two locations targeted for 2025, to improve accessibility for customers preferring in-person transactions.
Customer preferences
JPS explained that its office closures in 2021 were part of a strategy aligned with changing customer preferences, noting an observed trend of increased reliance on digital channels for service.
“The rationale for office closures generally also considered the trend in customers’ behaviour towards greater utilization of digital channels,” it said in a statement.
It added that since the MyJPS App was launched in 2020, it has attracted around 556,000 of its 690,000 customers, with average monthly registrations reaching 7,000. It said over 97% of JPS transactions are now conducted via digital channels.
“We provide ongoing support for these customers through face-to-face interactions,” JPS said, referencing outreach programmes and mobile office deployments to areas affected by closures.
The OUR’s report on JPS’s strategy raises broader questions about the risks of rapid digitisation, especially for customers who lack reliable access to online services.
Jamaica has seen similar digital trends in its banking sector, with institutions like Scotiabank and NCB Jamaica closing over 10 branches since 2015, citing a rise in digital transactions as more customers opt for online banking, as well as cost implications.
Yet rural communities face difficulties, with Internet access still limited in some areas.
In St Elizabeth’s Black River, for example, the closure of an NCB branch sparked criticism over limited banking access. Community leaders argue such closures disproportionately impact elderly residents and others without internet, urging companies to find balanced solutions.
Internet penetration – the proportion of people using the Internet in Jamaica – up to 2021 was 82.4 per cent, well above the 46 per cent recorded for 2016, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica and the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
COVID-19 pandemic
Notwithstanding that growth, the problems with access were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The education ministry, for example, reported that 120,000 students in the public school system could not accounted for during the height of the crisis when teaching was mainly virtual.
While access is improving, more “urgency” is needed to boost digital literacy, argued Professor Sean Thorpe, the dean of the Faculty of Computing and Engineering at The University of Technology, Jamaica.
“Of course, access is what is going to drive the literacy,” he said, adding that “literacy is still the bigger picture.”
AI literacy
Thorpe added: “The public-private sector partnerships are required, a lot more investments in that is required … . I’m looking at a few initiatives that will support how we improve that, including the drive towards AI literacy as a function of digital literacy.”
The digital divide and how to use the Internet safely are a “challenge” for elderly Jamaicans, particularly those living in rural areas, said Jean Lowrie-Chin, the founder and chairperson of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons.
“We have to call on their relatives and maybe their church community to sit one-and-on with these individuals and assist them and also to direct them. I understand the University Service Fund has been putting up free Wi-Fi areas in rural areas and I think we need to have that list of places where they can go and get free Wi-Fi,” she said.
Lowrie-Chin added: “I saw that experience with an elderly person where the nephew sat with that person and took them through it step by step and they were able to get online. So, just watching directions somewhere, it’s not very useful … .”
She urged the Jamaica Bankers’ Association to consider holding town hall seminars in rural areas to assist these populations. She noted, “Because once they get it, they are really happy… they can get their NIS (pension) payments.”
Digital literacy programmes
Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz told Parliament in June that all major townships now have public Wi-Fi facilities and further that the Universal Service Fund invested $572 million in free Wi-Fi hotspots for 315 communities in the past year, with plans to install 63 more hotspots by March 2025, pursue digital literacy programmes in schools, including coding training and tech clubs.
Vaz also stated that the USF signed an agreement with Flow, a telecoms firm, for a $13m pilot programme. Under the deal, a free HP Chromebook, subsidised broadband connectivity to households, and digital literacy and skills training are to be provided to vulnerable and unconnected citizens registered on the PATH programme, a conditional cash-transfer scheme for poor families.