The new President and CEO of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), Michel Gantois has defended the company’s stance of passing on losses from electricity theft to paying customers but not including it as a line item on the bill.

Michel Gantois,
President & CEO, Jamaica Public Service (JPS)

The issue of the lack of transparency in billing came to the fore just prior to General Elections, when then Energy Minister, Fayal Williams, slammed the company, saying solutions were needed to make the cost of electricity more manageable for consumers. 

In response, Mr Gantois said there could have been an ulterior motive behind what was said in reference to the company, as the election machinery was just about being oiled up in the country.

“You have to be careful of pronouncements of public servants and just before elections. There’s slightly different context why people say certain things just before elections,”  he said.

JPS states that it loses about one-quarter of the power it generates mainly to theft, followed by faulty or old transmission lines. Theft, he said affects all stakeholders, but at the same time, JPS cannot enforce the law.

“What we cannot and should not do is substitute ourselves to the state in helping vulnerable customers nor catch criminals,” he argued, adding that, “We don’t have the monopoly to prosecute thieves. That’s something the government should do with the proper systems, laws and regulations to ensure that these thieves are indeed punished.” 

Mr. Gantois added that in no other country facing similar challenges has the utility been able to resolve the issue on their own. Despite that, he said JPS remains committed to implementing its share of interventions aimed at converting those committing the crime into paying customers.

He said the company has already shelled out thousands of dollars on programmes in communities across the island that have a high penetration of electricity theft, but he said it will require the help of all citizens to really see change.

“All consumers can play a part in fighting electricity theft,” he said, pointing out the company does make an effort to investigate as many reports of electricity theft that are made to the utility company.

Mr Gantois said the perception of theft needs to change and has recommended more social education programmes for children and more interventions from the church.

Meanwhile, the new JPS boss said the cost of electricity in Jamaica remains high because a number of factors are at play to ensure the service can be sustained.

During summer, when oil prices hit its lowest prices in a decade, local light bills rose. JPS said that it was due to LNG prices not seeing a similar fall as oil prices.  Liquiefied Natural Gas (LNG) now accounts for over 60% of JPS’s fuel, up from less than 30% a year earlier.

Additionally, he said more than two-thirds of the cost of electricity cannot be controlled by JPS and that includes money that has to be paid over the Government in taxes, fuel costs and money for electricity bought from other suppliers like Wigton Windfarm.

The third of the cost that can be manipulated by JPS covers things like infrastructure, and staff welfare, he said.

“We try to optimize that expenditure,” said Gantois.  He said the company wants to lower the cost passed on to consumers, but he added that there has to be a cap in order to ensure greater reliability and customer service.

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