CUSTOMERS of Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) have been complaining bitterly about the exorbitant electricity charges they now have to contend with since the passage of Hurricane Beryl, with some bills, they claim, being close to, or exceeding $100,000.

The complainants, some of whom have taken to social media to air their grouses, claim the billing is inconsistent with their actual usage as they’ve been billed large sums even though they were not at home or had no or disrupted electricity during the billing period.

On Monday, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz, expressing concern about the numerous complaints received from customers who reported large anomalies in their electricity bills following Hurricane Beryl has demanded that JPS provides his ministry with details about its billing practices by September 6. He is also requesting the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) carry out a comprehensive investigation into JPS’s billing and provide the findings by the same date.

On social media platform X, one user shared that her light bill came to $107,000 during a month when her children were not at home. “@myJPSonline This makes no…sense and it’s literally criminal to be doing this across Jamaica. We are literally paying for you to be a monopoly,” she said.

Another user said: “My bill came to $90,000 @myJPSonline. This is highway robbery”. Said another: @myJPSonline my bill moved from $26,000.00 to $48,000.00 following Beryl….having been without electricity for almost a week! Then it moved to $80,000.00 the month after Beryl… Same appliances… same routine…nothing new!”

“My last bill was $17,000 and I had visitors staying with me; now it’s just my husband and I and it’s much more – $25,000. Something is just not right. JPS needs to tell us what’s going on. I am not happy,” another commented.

“My light bill is $78,000, up from $52,000 last month… knowing that during the hurricane there was no light for 12 days how can it be $20,000+more this month,” another disgruntled JPS customer queried.

In a letter to JPS President and Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant on Monday, Vaz said many customers claim that despite being without power for extended periods of time, they got bills reflecting electricity consumption levels that not only exceeded their pre-Beryl usage but also charged them for usage when power had not yet been restored.

“The ministry is aware of a scenario in St Elizabeth in which a community centre that was severely damaged got an electrical bill of roughly $71,000. The billing cycle began only two days before Hurricane Beryl struck, and the centre has been without electricity ever since. This billing amount is not only unjust, but also untenable, given that the facility has been without power since the hurricane,” he said.

He argued that this circumstance, among others, raises major concerns regarding the validity and dependability of JPS’s present billing processes and methodology. He reminded that as Jamaica’s sole electricity provider JPS is responsible for maintaining transparency, accuracy, and fairness in all aspects of its operations, particularly when charging customers during periods of emergency or natural catastrophe.

“Given the gravity of these allegations, I am formally requesting a detailed disclosure of JPS’s billing methodology, including how estimates are calculated, how actual usage is recorded, and the specific measures JPS has implemented to ensure billing accuracy following Beryl and in the future. This should also include how JPS intends to correct any submitted billing inaccuracies and guarantee that consumers are appropriately billed for actual electricity consumption at any time,” he said.

And in a letter to director general at the OUR, Ansord Hewitt, also on Monday, Vaz asked for a thorough and quick examination into the JPS billing practices following Hurricane Beryl, reminding that as the regulatory organisation in charge of monitoring Jamaican utilities, the OUR is tasked for protecting consumers and ensuring that service providers operate in a transparent and equitable manner.

“Given the gravity of the accusations, the ministry is requesting that the OUR immediately conduct a comprehensive audit of JPS’s billing processes, with an emphasis on how the business handled billing during and after the Hurricane Beryl disruptions. This investigation should include an examination of how estimates are generated, the accuracy of meter readings, and the adequacy of customer service responses to billing inquiries and disputes,” he said.

In a subsequent release, the OUR said it was just over this past weekend that it became increasingly aware of several utility customer complaints regarding increasing electricity bills, following the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

“The OUR has initiated steps to investigate these complaints. Once the relevant information has been received from the JPS, it will be analysed to allow us to determine what regulatory intervention is necessary,” the release said.