LUCEA, Hanover — The novel coronavirus pandemic contributed to a surge in customer complaints about utility companies, mostly bill-related, over the past two years, says the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

Service providers in Kingston and St Andrew topped the list of offenders across the country.

According to OUR Director General Ansord Hewitt, in 2021 customers most often complained about estimated bills, disputed charges, and high consumption. He noted that complaints spiralled two years ago.

“In 2020, we saw a sharp increase in contacts — 51 per cent over the 2019 figures. In 2021, we saw a reduction of nine per cent over the 2020 figure, but still higher than what we saw in 2019. From our analysis, the sharp increase and subsequent decline were the consequential impacts of COVID-19 containment measures,” said Hewitt.

He was addressing a forum last Thursday with representatives and stakeholders from Trelawny, St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland. The virtual event was the first-ever, in the OUR’s 25 years of service to Jamaica, dedicated to the western end of the country.

According to OUR data, complaints from the west have been minimal, compared to those received from other sections of the country.

“We noticed as well that for 2021, most of the 5,771 persons who contacted us came from Kingston and St Andrew. So 28 per cent, Kingston and St Andrew; 18 per cent, St Catherine; St James accounted for six per cent of contacts, while Westmoreland, Hanover, and Trelawny accounted for two per cent,” said Hewitt.

He also revealed that in 2021, the OUR paid $72 million to customers, up from $59 million the year before.

“Of the $72 million paid over in 2021, guaranteed standards credits accounted for approximately $71 million. The remaining $1 million was secured through the OUR’s intervention relating to customers’ appeals and complaints,” Hewitt explained.

A breakdown of the data has shown that Jamaica Public Service Company accounted for a huge chunk of the breaches, just over 64,000, which resulted in its customers receiving compensation of more than $66 million. Private water and sewerage service providers accounted for 3,548, a mere 397 lower than the National Water Commission (NWC). As a result, customers of private water and sewerage service providers were compensated $5,916 and NWC customers $4.5 million.