ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) – The promise by the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) company to deliver lower energy prices to consumers with the conversion of its Bogue, St James plant to liquefied natural gas (LNG) is almost a reality.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the JPS, Kelly Tomblin, said this should be fully realised by the middle of August this year.

On a recent tour of the Bogue facility, Tomblin told JIS News that all permits and licences are in place and that the gas pipeline construction is almost 95 per cent complete.

“We are excited to convert Bogue.  We have always maintained that fuel diversity is critical. It is all about providing cheaper and affordable energy prices to the consumer,” she said.

Tomblin, who also met with representatives of the US-based New Fortress Energy, the supplier who will be providing the long-term natural gas solution for the company’s power plants, added that the project is within budget and has so far provided employment for 150 persons.

She pointed out that the supply of compressed natural gas to the Bogue facility will significantly reduce the company’s operating costs, and generate anticipated fuel savings of between 15 and 30 per cent on an annual basis.

The CEO added that the identification and harnessing of cost-effective energy solutions are essential to Jamaica’s growth agenda and the achievement of greater levels of production and the expansion of businesses and industries.

“This Bogue Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) is the JPS’ first gas-fired generating plant. This will enable the lowering of energy prices through fuel diversification. It is bringing natural gas to Jamaica at long last,” she said.

Power generation through this system is currently the most energy efficient and clean method of thermal fuel power generation. The plant uses natural gas to generate electricity and as part of this process, the waste heat that is produced is also used to generate electricity, making a CCGT plant highly cost effective and efficient.

Tomblin noted that in addition to the construction of a 2-kilometre natural gas pipeline by New Fortress Energy, the supplier will also construct a regasification plant and a receiving terminal for LNG.

The Bogue plant is a multimillion-dollar project to convert the 120-megawatt  facility from using solely automotive diesel oil (ADO), to having dual fuel capability, thus facilitating the use of LNG. The project is being undertaken at a cost of US$22.54 million.

For his part, Energy Minister Andrew Wheatley, who also toured the facility, said the partnership between JPS and New Fortress could be the dawn of a new era in the energy sector, which could see the country being a force in the region. “The main objective of the project is to reduce the price of electricity to the consumer by providing cheaper fuel to the Bogue plant,” he noted.