KINGSTON, Jamaica, Aug. 24, CMC – The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has instructed the light and power company the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) , to reduce bills submitted to customers for the next billing period.
The OUR has also directed JPS to re-issue those bills issued in August with zero consumption that do not show a corresponding zero money value.
According to the utilities regulator, the scale and extensiveness of the JPS bill increase for August came to the agency’s attention after the company began to dispatch the bills and customers started to complain about high electricity charges.
In 2021 the OUR communicated to JPS that it viewed any average increase in overall rates in excess of 5% to be a rate or bill shock – a situation that should be avoided.
Previously, in one-off spikes, the regulatory treatment is that the additional cost to customers was spread over several months to mitigate the effects on customers.
The OUR says it has started an investigation into the current billing complaints.
It added that once the relevant information has been received from the JPS and analysed, it will determine what, if any, remedies are necessary.
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