KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is calling on the Government to play a stronger role in addressing the crime of electricity theft, which it says continues to hinder the company’s services.

Noting that electricity theft cannot be curtailed without strong Government support, as demonstrated in other countries, JPS called on the Government to implement a few of the best practices used by governments worldwide to bring equity to the electricity market and protect needy people. 

According to the company, these include a social safety net that provides house-wiring assistance and partial electricity subsidies for those below the poverty line, as well as stronger legal deterrents to electricity theft, including increased policing of high-risk communities and the swift prosecution of wrongdoers.

Commenting on the issue being faced by the electricity provider, SVP Customer Services, Ramsay McDonald, explained that “the root causes of electricity theft and indeed criminality are primarily social and economic, and are reinforced by a mentality of entitlement and ‘freeness’. 

“Over the years, JPS has tried several approaches to encourage compliance, such as: the removal of illegal wires, partnerships with affected communities as well as meter audits, face-to-face dialogue and moral suasion.  The security forces have also assisted in sanctioning illegal users.”

“Now, in fairness to paying customers and in an effort to reduce significant damage to the grid, the company is utilising technology with protective mechanism to safeguard equipment and curtail the wanton theft of electricity experienced across the island,” McDonald continued.

The company noted that with increasingly smart technology, some devices are now able to shut down distribution systems before they become overloaded, burnt and damaged by illegal connections. 

High theft levels can lead to fires, which can result in the loss of lives as well as damage to extremely expensive equipment, such as transformers, fuses and other important hardware. 

Only recently, a transformer in the Torrington Park community of St Andrew was captured on camera blazing beyond containment and without any possibility of repair or return to usefulness, due to illegal connections by residents, the company said.

Another prime example occurred in Lilliput District in Trelawny, where, according to JPS, electricity theft continues to be the main cause of the failure of a number of transformers.

In one week alone, the company’s maintenance team had to replace two defective transformers at a cost of $1.08 million.  The service provider said the constant redeployment of resources to deal with these issues is not only costly but also unacceptable and unfair to customers. 

The company further reminded illegal users, that regularisation of electricity supply is a simple and straightforward process.