Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company, Vernon Douglas, says that all households across the island will be outfitted with a smart electricity meter within the next three years.

He was addressing the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) Public Consultation on the JPS’s 2019-2024 tariff review at the Sharon Baptist Church in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, on March 10.

Vernon explained that the smart meter will allow customers to monitor the use of their electricity as well as facilitate quicker reconnection.

“Within a short window of time, within hours… if you should have the eventuality of being disconnected, you can be restored,” he said.

The smart meter can be read remotely by both JPS and the customer, thus reducing the need for a technician to visit customers’ premises and allowing more customer control.

Vernon said that customers will be able to use a cell phone to monitor their electricity consumption in real-time, instead of having to visit the company’s offices.

In addition, the installation of the smart meters will allow persons who want to sign up for electricity and access other services from the JPS, to do so from their smartphone.