LEGISLATORS yesterday approved regulations that will make it illegal for anyone to work as an electrician without a licence and liable to a fine of $5 million or up to two years behind bars.

The new offence is set out in the Electricity (Electrical Work, Registration and Licensing) Regulations of 2020, piloted by Energy Minister Daryl Vaz in the House of Representatives yesterday.

Individuals could find themselves in trouble with the law if they fraudulently represent themselves as registered, or having performed work as a licensed or registered electrician.

Vaz outlined, too, that while the law provides for simultaneous registration as both electrician and inspector, in cases where the electrician inspects or certifies their own work or modification, he or she is guilty of an offence, which attracts a fine of $5 million or two years’ imprisonment.

The 57-clause regulation also outlines the criteria for renewal of registration and the circumstances for suspension or revocation of registration. Applications for certification to the government electrical regulator by an electrician must be approved by a committee of examiners.

Additionally, Vaz explained that, upon being granted a licence, an electrical inspector must obtain liability insurance for the period of the licence.

Opposition spokesman on energy Phillip Paulwell said, while he welcomed the long-overdue provisions, there are a number of issues plaguing the sector that now need urgent attention. He pointed to the passage of amendments in 2015 to the Electricity Act, which should have already come up for review.

“The law itself mandated a review by way of a joint select committee of Parliament… We are now past five years since the law mandated its own review. This is such a fundamental part of our national life that we need to ensure that this review be done expeditiously by way of a joint select committee,” he urged.

The Kingston Eastern and Port Royal Member of Parliament pointed out that there are issues now facing the country which makes the review urgent.

“One of the most important features of the 2015 law is to mandate new provisions under the JPSCo [Jamaica Public Service Company Limited] licence issued in 2002. There were some important changes, [and] those changes need to be reviewed, but also [that] some of the changes that were mandated are actually enacted and implemented,” Paulwell emphasised.

He pointed to matters such as net billing and underground electricity distribution, a smart system for the monitoring of street lights, and renewable energy as a percentage of national energy supply among them.

— Alphea Saunders