Dear Editor,

Just because former KGB head and now Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reclaim lands that were once under the control of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has e-mailed to tell me that electricity rates in my country, which is thousands of miles away from the conflict, is set to increase.

From as long ago as 2005 I have been saying that the Jamaican Government should have started a Solar Trust similar to or as part of the National Housing Trust to ensure that homeowners would have access to a solar mortgage.

Our banks in their rapacious quest to control our economy failed to see the opportunities that they could derive from homes being fitted with solar systems.

The Government, because of its investment in JPS, has failed to see the future in which we are now living.

Indeed, even after the conflict in Ukraine ends, we must remember that fossil fuels are a finite commodity, so switching to solar is still a prudent option.

What seems to be the problem is that the riff-raff in our Parliament and Government want to find a way to tax people who have their own solar systems since they will lose the easy money (tariff) that they now get from JPS.

Mark Trought

www.schoolmanagerhub.com