As Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) customers face exhorbitant increases in their electricity bills for the November period, the light and power company has been given a Christmas Eve deadline to respond to a series of questions on the matter from the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

In a statement dated December 17, the OUR said it had received correspondence from the JPS regarding steep increases in fuel costs and other related charges that are expected to impact customers’ bills in the coming months.

According to the utilities regulator, the JPS specifically attributed the increases to higher commodity prices for oil and natural gas internationally; devaluation of the Jamaican dollar to the US dollar; and temporary switch from natural gas to the more expensive automotive diesel oil (ADO) at several plants for a combination of reasons.

One JPS customer with whom Our Today spoke reported the listed fuel charge moving to $33.008 per kwh for a bill due in December from $25.878 per kwh for a bill due in November. For his October bill, the customer indicated the fuel charge as listed at $21.030 per kwh.

“The OUR recognises the potential rate shock to customers but is also mindful that costs pertaining to charges by independent power producers (IPP) and foreign exchange rate movements are direct passthrough to customers,” the OUR said, providing little comfort to consumers.

“These are explicitly provided for in the Electricity Licence (2016) and the JPS Rate Schedule and as such are not subject to regulatory control.”

The OUR said it however has a duty to verify the composition and computation of the charges and how they are applied to customers’ bills.

“As such, we have written to JPS requesting additional information including the rates and charges applied to customer categories for 2021 November and 2021 December; analyses of the increases in fuel and IPP costs arising from the switch from natural gas to ADO; and an explanation as to why some plants switched from natural gas to ADO.”

The OUR said it expects to receive all requested information from JPS by December 24.