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Portmore residents protest against high light bills
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A group of residents from several communities in Portmore yesterday converged on the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) branch in the municipality where they protested against hikes in their bills from the light and power company.
The approximately 30 protesters were carefully watched by armed police officers as they lashed the JPS for sending them bills over the past three months that reflected increases much higher than changes in the exchange rate and fuel costs.
Jamaica Public Service customers protest against high electricity bills during a demonstration outside the company's Portmore Mall office in St Catherine yesterday. They say their bills have been increasing over the past three months and have asked the company 'How come?'. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)
"Since June many of us have had to be forking out thousands of dollars to the power company, and this is more money than we normally pay; the company is pushing up our bills despite our efforts to conserve on energy and we are demanding some answers to the problem," a spokesman for the group said.
"This is madness; since June I have noticed that every time I get my electricity bill it jumps by more than 30 per cent. The last time I checked my bill for the month of July it was at $9,000 and in August the bill jumped to $15,000. This cannot continue, we want an answer, we want justice," said Cynthia Samuels, one of the protesters.
"We want an explanation and we want it now; I personally made sure that I stopped using most of my appliances at home and even now the bill still continue to increase, I want to hear from the JPS," said Sam Maze, another protester.
Ruthlyn Johnson, corporate communication manager at JPS, in response to the complaints, told the Observer yesterday that the company was already taking steps to address the concerns of the Portmore customers.
"The JPS wishes to apologise to customers who have received high estimated bills for the month of July," Johnson said statement. "These estimated bills were higher than normal due to a combination of factors, including the two holidays in early August, which resulted in customers receiving bills being calculated for an extended period of approximately 40 days instead of the approximate 30-day billing period. This will self-correct in the following month's bill."
She said the company was also meeting with customers on an individual basis to facilitate arrangements for payment of the additional amounts, and encouraged those affected to get in touch with the light and power company
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A group of residents from several communities in Portmore yesterday converged on the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) branch in the municipality where they protested against hikes in their bills from the light and power company.
The approximately 30 protesters were carefully watched by armed police officers as they lashed the JPS for sending them bills over the past three months that reflected increases much higher than changes in the exchange rate and fuel costs.
Jamaica Public Service customers protest against high electricity bills during a demonstration outside the company's Portmore Mall office in St Catherine yesterday. They say their bills have been increasing over the past three months and have asked the company 'How come?'. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby) "Since June many of us have had to be forking out thousands of dollars to the power company, and this is more money than we normally pay; the company is pushing up our bills despite our efforts to conserve on energy and we are demanding some answers to the problem," a spokesman for the group said.
"This is madness; since June I have noticed that every time I get my electricity bill it jumps by more than 30 per cent. The last time I checked my bill for the month of July it was at $9,000 and in August the bill jumped to $15,000. This cannot continue, we want an answer, we want justice," said Cynthia Samuels, one of the protesters.
"We want an explanation and we want it now; I personally made sure that I stopped using most of my appliances at home and even now the bill still continue to increase, I want to hear from the JPS," said Sam Maze, another protester.
Ruthlyn Johnson, corporate communication manager at JPS, in response to the complaints, told the Observer yesterday that the company was already taking steps to address the concerns of the Portmore customers.
"The JPS wishes to apologise to customers who have received high estimated bills for the month of July," Johnson said statement. "These estimated bills were higher than normal due to a combination of factors, including the two holidays in early August, which resulted in customers receiving bills being calculated for an extended period of approximately 40 days instead of the approximate 30-day billing period. This will self-correct in the following month's bill."
She said the company was also meeting with customers on an individual basis to facilitate arrangements for payment of the additional amounts, and encouraged those affected to get in touch with the light and power company
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