KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica (YEA) on Thursday raised concerns about the Jamaica Public Service Company’s (JPS) request for a tariff increase of 15 per cent for small businesses, saying that such operations are facing significant challenges to meet their costs of production and operation — a significant proportion of which is related to energy charges.

“While we understand that the JPS is only entitled to apply for a rate increase on the non-fuel and IPP tariff portion of their rates every five years, small business and residential customers have nonetheless seen significant increases in their energy charges over the last five years,” said Andrae Blair YEA Public Policy and Advocacy Committee Chair.

In a statement from YEA, Blair noted that these increases were as a result of increases in the price of fuel, the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar, and the JPS’s own “inefficient rates of electricity generation”.

“It is without a doubt that of all the electricity fed into the grid through a combination of generating plants, both operated by the JPS and those operated by IPPs, the plants operated by the JPS are the most inefficient, and generate electricity at the highest rates,” he added.

“These contribute significantly to the increases in fuel-related charges reflected in consumer’s bills.”

In its recent request to the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) JPS also requested a tariff increase of 21 per cent for residential customers.

Meanwhile YEA is calling on the OUR to postpone the current rate review and consider the following tariff review process to make “much-needed adjustments to the regulatory framework”:

• Institute a policy where electricity is fed into the grid based on the rate of production with the cheapest being fed in first;

• Make adjustments to the heat and efficiency rate requirements forcing the JPS and other energy producers to constantly retool, upgrade, and increase their rates of operational efficiency;

• Make increases in operational efficiency a pre-requisite for the granting of tariff increases.