Seemingly stung by the public tongue-lashing it received from Energy Minister Daryl Vaz, and facing a Cabinet grilling next Monday, Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has fired back, saying that there are several inaccuracies in Vaz’s claims.

In a release on Wednesday the JPS said it is refuting claims by Vaz in his media release issued on September 7, a day after an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

During the exclusive interview with the Observer, Vaz flayed the JPS for what he described as its poor handling of customer issues and said he wants the firm to explain how it will compensate customers who suffered damage or loss of income from power outages.

Vaz had also expressed disappointment with the 0.7 per cent average rate increase recently granted by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to the JPS, which saw the majority of its customers paying more for electricity bills effective August 22.

Next Monday, JPS officials are to brief the Cabinet on the company’s plans and measures to ensure power stability as the hurricane season progresses; and how and when issues concerning delays in adding new customers to the grid, persistent and unscheduled power outages, and relocation of poles will be addressed.

The JPS is also expected to provide a supply chain assessment report on the impact of the challenges being encountered by the construction industry because of its non-performance.

But in its release on Wednesday, JPS said it was surprised that Vaz would issue a news release with several inaccuracies, when it had been trying unsuccessfully for months to convene a meeting with the him to discuss the issues highlighted in the release, as well as other matters of national importance that have the potential to significantly impact the cost of electricity and the reliability of supply.

“These include how the ministry could help fight the massive theft of electricity, a national response to soaring global fuel prices, a path to the addition of renewable generation, and the impact of supply chain upheavals on the sector,” said JPS.

Responding to Vaz’s claim that 100,000 people are waiting to be connected to the JPS grid, the company declared that it always expedites the connection of customers to the grid because more customers means lower tariffs.

“The company is not aware of 100,000 customers waiting to be connected to the grid. The company’s records show just under 1,000 outstanding new applications for service. These applications have been delayed by global supply chain challenges, a situation that is not unique to JPS or Jamaica,” JPS said in the release.

“Key equipment such as conductors, transformers, poles and insulators are in short supply due to material shortage, shipment and logistics delays, as well as labour shortages in some regions of the world. JPS is now ordering equipment well in advance and adding new suppliers. But the company continues to experience very long delays in the delivery of materials. The company has kept the affected customers updated on these supply chain challenges,” added JPS

The electricity company also scoffed at the claim by Vaz that it is stalling national projects by its failure to relocate poles.

“JPS has made significant progress with the relocation of a number of its transmission and distribution poles to facilitate the South Coast Highway Improvement Project being carried out by CHEC and other local construction companies.

“This extensive project extends from Harbour View in St Andrew to Port Antonio, in Portland, via Yallahs, Morant Bay, and a section from Morant Bay to Cedar Valley in St Thomas. The company has already relocated some 440 poles along the entire project area, with the focus now on the final 108 poles. The relocation of the additional poles should be completed by the end of September,” said JPS.

Vaz had also flayed the light and power company for unscheduled outages but the JPS argued that this is an inescapable reality of power systems across the world.

“There can be no guarantee of uninterruptible power in the face of uncontrollable factors such as weather conditions, motor vehicle accidents, or equipment failure. In some of our local communities, the hard work to install, upgrade, repair and maintain equipment is made even more difficult by mountainous terrain, landslides and bad road conditions.

“JPS is very sensitive to the negative impact of power outages on people’s lives and businesses. Our commitment to customers is to reduce the likelihood of outages, respond and restore as fast as we can, and update our customers on our progress,” said the company.

“To improve the quality and reliability of service, JPS has invested in excess of US$80 million (more than $12 billion) each year over the past five years. Our customers have experienced improvement year on year as a result of this significant investment in modern and smart grid technology,” JPS said.

“A comparison of grid performance in June – August 2021 with the same period in 2022, shows a 36 per cent reduction in unplanned outages, and a 25 per cent improvement in average system restoration time,” the company added.

According to JPS, since the start of the hurricane season on June 1, there has been the expected increase in average unplanned outages as a result of thunderstorms and, in particular lightning, from several systems that have impacted the region. Despite this, JPS is restoring customers faster.

The company said that in August 2022, 85 per cent of unplanned outages were resolved within 24 hours of being reported, compared to 75 per cent in 2021, while almost 50 per cent of the unplanned outages were resolved within six hours.

“In August 2021, 14 per cent of unplanned outages lasted between 24 and 48 hours, compared to 11 per cent in 2022. More significantly, in 2021, 11 per cent of unplanned outages went beyond 48 hours, while this number has been reduced to only four per cent in 2022,” said JPS.

It argued that supply reliability has improved in the majority of parishes this year.

“However, despite these improvements, we have admittedly had some areas in rural Jamaica — some mentioned by the minister — where outage durations were much longer than usual because of weather conditions and access issues. JPS has increased work in these parishes to strengthen the grid, and to install new technology to reduce the impact of power outages,” the company said.

According to the JPS, there are several major issues that need to be addressed to improve the local energy sector that require alignment and partnerships among many parties committed to do the right thing.

“JPS is therefore calling on the Ministry of Energy and other willing partners to work together to address the major issues that can move the energy sector forward,” said the company.