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Ten years after the telecommunications industry was opened up to competition, a similar move could be on the cards for the electricity sector.
This would give Jamaicans the chance to choose the company they want to supply them with electricity, in the same way persons can select their telecommunications suppliers.
While no serious negotiation has started, it appears that the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) are agreed on the need to end the Jamaica Public Service Company's (JPS) monopoly on the distribution of electricity.
Competition necessary
"We believe that it is now necessary to reconsider the value of maintaining a monopolistic structure in respect to distribution and transmission of electricity," declared Energy Minister James Robertson in Parliament recently.
"As such, similar to power generation, power transmission and distribution must now be open to competition," Robertson added.
"The proposal is to unbundle the grid to allow new producers of electricity to reach their consumers because they would be able to market directly," Phillip Paulwell, the opposition spokesman on energy, told a Gleaner Editors' Forum last week in a rare show of unity across the political divide.
"What we are saying is that there ought to be an interconnection price for people to traverse the (JPS) grid and you also need a universal-access fee that would enable the incumbent to take care of areas that are uneconomic," Paulwell added.
20-year hold
However, the political leaders will have to get the buy-in from the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) of the United Arab Emirates, which recently acquired an 80 per cent stake in the JPS. The Government holds the remaining 20 per cent.
TAQA's interest in the JPS was undoubtedly buttressed by the exclusive licence under which the company currently operates.
The All-Island Electricity Licence (2001) gives the JPS the exclusive right to transmit, distribute and supply electricity throughout the island for a period of 20 years.
The licence, which was modified in 2006, is not slated to expire until 2019 and the Government would have to make a compelling case to convince TAQA to give that up.
On Friday, the JPS said it was awaiting further discussions with the minister of energy on the proposal.
According to the company, it "remains open to any proposal that will contribute to the delivery of improved service to customers at a reasonable cost while enhancing the value of JPS".
That is a challenge Robertson and Paulwell accepted would be difficult but not impossible to overcome.
"Be that as it may, our technical experts ... are currently studying all aspects of the electricity grid from generation to distribution to see what can be introduced into the market to ensure that the Jamaican consumers pay the least cost for electricity," Robertson told Parliament.
Use of smart grids
"This includes the possible use of 'smart-grid' applications, including broadband over power-line technologies and smart metering," Robertson added.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency.
This is a modernised electricity network being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues.
arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...business1.html
This would give Jamaicans the chance to choose the company they want to supply them with electricity, in the same way persons can select their telecommunications suppliers.
While no serious negotiation has started, it appears that the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) are agreed on the need to end the Jamaica Public Service Company's (JPS) monopoly on the distribution of electricity.
Competition necessary
"We believe that it is now necessary to reconsider the value of maintaining a monopolistic structure in respect to distribution and transmission of electricity," declared Energy Minister James Robertson in Parliament recently.
"As such, similar to power generation, power transmission and distribution must now be open to competition," Robertson added.
"The proposal is to unbundle the grid to allow new producers of electricity to reach their consumers because they would be able to market directly," Phillip Paulwell, the opposition spokesman on energy, told a Gleaner Editors' Forum last week in a rare show of unity across the political divide.
"What we are saying is that there ought to be an interconnection price for people to traverse the (JPS) grid and you also need a universal-access fee that would enable the incumbent to take care of areas that are uneconomic," Paulwell added.
20-year hold
However, the political leaders will have to get the buy-in from the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) of the United Arab Emirates, which recently acquired an 80 per cent stake in the JPS. The Government holds the remaining 20 per cent.
TAQA's interest in the JPS was undoubtedly buttressed by the exclusive licence under which the company currently operates.
The All-Island Electricity Licence (2001) gives the JPS the exclusive right to transmit, distribute and supply electricity throughout the island for a period of 20 years.
The licence, which was modified in 2006, is not slated to expire until 2019 and the Government would have to make a compelling case to convince TAQA to give that up.
On Friday, the JPS said it was awaiting further discussions with the minister of energy on the proposal.
According to the company, it "remains open to any proposal that will contribute to the delivery of improved service to customers at a reasonable cost while enhancing the value of JPS".
That is a challenge Robertson and Paulwell accepted would be difficult but not impossible to overcome.
"Be that as it may, our technical experts ... are currently studying all aspects of the electricity grid from generation to distribution to see what can be introduced into the market to ensure that the Jamaican consumers pay the least cost for electricity," Robertson told Parliament.
Use of smart grids
"This includes the possible use of 'smart-grid' applications, including broadband over power-line technologies and smart metering," Robertson added.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency.
This is a modernised electricity network being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues.
arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...business1.html