The problem of utility theft was clearly identified by Professor Anthony Clayton of the UWI in an article on January 11, 2017:

“…….we have something like a quarter of our entire population living on captured land. We have about one-third of our population stealing electricity. We have a situation where two-thirds of the water supplied by the Water Commission is either stolen or leaks out through holes in the pipe. This means that we have many children in this country who are raised in households that regard this as normal — this is what you do to survive. You capture land, you steal electricity, you steal your water, and that’s normal?”

Add to this “bypass” when, some years ago, telecommunications services were also being pirated.

The JPS 2016 annual report informs that it produced over 4.3-million mega-watt hours (mwh) and collected about $90 billion for roughly 3.2 million mwh. Something like 25 per cent of production was lost — perhaps split approximately evenly between line losses and theft.

The quantity of line loss may not be unreasonable, but that leaves somewhere about 12.5 per cent lost to theft. The JPS report indicated that there were over 631,000 connections in all of which a bit more than 550,000 are residential customers who, in total, consume some 1 million mwh and pay about $35 billion (about $13,000 per capita per year).

Former JPS CEO Kelly Tomlin informed the Jamaica Observer of February 13, 2016 about “a technology group that doesn’t do anything but work on electricity theft” and also that, at one point, JPS was losing more than US$100 million (J$12.5 billion) in electricity theft (J$4,633 annually per person).

A 2011 survey by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) suggests in the region of 8,800 squatter residences. By 2016 that number is likely to have become 15,000, which, according to the JPS averages, would account for about J$1 billion or only 10 per cent of the stolen power.

Professor Clayton’s estimate of 25 per cent of the population on captured land may be more accurate and would equate to about 135,000 residences, which, by the JPS average consumption, would represent about $8.5 billion.

Clayton’s figures imply that there are more utility stealers than squatters who, consequently, may not be the only power thieves. Perhaps power theft by lawful occupiers is a significant contributing factor.

The analysis is also skewed, because many circumvent the JPS requirement of permission from the landowner and do have legal connections.

The real question, though, is whether JPS absorbs the theft losses or passes it on to the legal consumers. It would be a significant capital expense to make the transmission lines theft-proof, and so any such investment must be recouped from the consumer.

In other words, it could cost, say, five per cent, to save the 10 per cent (approximately) that the consumer could be surcharged to compensate JPS for the theft losses.

Obviously, therefore, the only solution is to stop the theft, and so it is in everyone’s self-interest to report electricity theft to reduce electricity costs.

The economic issue is not only utility theft. It is also the side effects of squatting identified by Clayton. The attitude of the squatter can promote the lawlessness which is destroying the society.

There are many pockets of unlawful residents in residential areas, and this close-quarter living without proper sanitation is a disease risk. The nuisance includes noise, theft of fruits and other items, housebreaking, and goats wandering into legitimate properties, eating expensive plants and leaving an unpleasant stench behind.

Lawful homeowners often fear going outside, and know that they are constantly watched for any opportunity to commit a crime. The tension and nervousness so created detract from comforts that the lawful resident reasonably expects.

All this destroys property values, and the discomfort creates the perception of uncivilised living and contributes to migration of the middle class — the backbone of any economy.

The Government must deal with squatting, recognising that many squatters are destitute — hence, ethically, the responsibility of the better-off. But many squatters are simply opportunists. They do not need to live this way and must be dealt with by law.

In Jamaica, one can only remove an unlawful resident by civil action, and perhaps our legislators should make it a criminal matter (as it is in some countries), at least on private property. It may be prudent to consider squatting on government land as a different matter from squatting on private lands.

GOJ could consider indigent housing on government land in not too remote areas to alleviate the difficulty. Such land, now earning nothing, could attract a small land tax while providing the economic benefit of pride of ownership.

There are perhaps thousands of shipping containers worldwide that have been retired from use, and it may be possible to develop a programme to obtain many of these free of cost. A 40-foot container, sprayed with insulating foam to reduce the heat, can be converted into robust two-bedroom units at very competitive costs. But this is for a later discussion.

Power theft is a worldwide problem (first world included), estimated at US$89.3 billion in 2015, according to Northeast Group LLC. Globally, this translates to approximately J$1,600 per capita per year. Jamaica’s theft rate appears to be about three times the world average!

Jamaican ingenuity in power theft is legendary. The story is told of a European recognised as the world’s leading expert in electricity theft. His credentials included knowledge of 17 different ways to steal electricity. He is in high demand, has a long waiting list, and charges a high fee. After a long wait he was brought to Jamaica for a two-week consultancy. After completing his study in Jamaica, he knew 24 different ways…

Robert Evans is an engineer.