Dear Editor,

I had an experience Monday, January 16, 2012 which I would like to share with Jamaica.

I was at home listening to a talk show while doing house chores around 10:45 am when my electricity went out for the fourth or fifth time that morning. My neighbour rushed over and told me that Jamaica Public Service (JPS) personnel were down the road and appeared to be taking out our meter.

I quickly grabbed my shoes and ran down to see what that was about, as we had no bills outstanding and were certainly not stealing light. The guy informed me that they were just checking, as our bills seemed low.

He asked me what electrical items we had in our house, radio, television, etc. Only my mother and I live here and we have tried everything for the longest while to keep our bills down, from using energy-saving bulbs, to zero ironing, to plugging out the fridge at nights. We don’t even watch our television as it is in need of repair.

This has kept the bills consistently hovering around the $3,000 mark. My mother regularly complains that we should do more to conserve but I don’t see how this is possible. I suspect our efforts will now be rewarded with a change to a digital electricity meter to increase our monthly payments.

One would have thought the efforts of the JPS to increase revenue would be better spent dealing with “customers” who actually steal electricity and fixing street lights that stay on all day, of which there are numerous cases, I’m sure.

Robert Mitchell

mitcib@yahoo.ca