By McPherse Thompson, Staff ReporterOFFICIALS at the state-owned National Water Commission (NWC) have mooted the idea of charging a deposit to delinquent customers whose services have consistently been disconnected because of arrears.
Charles Buchanan, the NWC's communications manager, said the idea has not been discussed at the board level, but "there is a view that this is something we should consider because there are a number of accounts that are consistently in arrears."
Although he could not, at the time of speaking with the Financial Gleaner earlier this week, provide figures to show the extent of the delinquency, Mr. Buchanan said disconnection of water supplies occurred among all the island's socio-economic groups.
Of the three utilities, the NWC is the only one that does not presently require customers to make a deposit to have their services restored after it has been disconnected for arrears.
Mr. Buchanan said the fee charged to residential customers for disconnection/reconnection is now $930, but if the pipes are three-quarters of an inch in size, the fee is doubled to $1,860, and tripled to $2,790 where the disconnection/reconnection applies to a commercial entity. Like other utility companies, customers would normally be required to satisfy any outstanding balances before their services have been reconnected.
"The Commission doesn't charge any specific deposit at this point in time for customers whose services are disconnected/reconnected because they are in arrears," Mr. Buchanan said.
However, in order to be able to manage the delinquent rates, "it's mooted that maybe we should apply a deposit," he said.
Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ), the island's largest telephone service provider, which still has a monopoly in terms of the provision of fixed lines at this time, said customers would be required to pay a deposit depending on their history of payment.
Phillip Hamilton, C&WJ's Corporate Communications Officer, said those customers with frequent disconnections would be required to satisfy their arrears, in addition to making a deposit equivalent to the last three months' bill. A security deposit is required if a customer's telephone line has been disconnected one-way for 10 days or longer after the due date for payment.
Mr. Hamilton said the deposits were held against customers' accounts and, upon termination of service, the deposits and accrued interest would be refunded, less any outstanding balances.
However, C&WJ could not say how much money collected as deposits were being held by the company at this time. The deposits notwithstanding, those customers are still required to make payments as they become due and are not precluded from being disconnected if they fall into arrears.
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) imposes a fee of $1,325 on each affected customer at the time of reconnection, to recover the costs for both disconnection and reconnection.
In written responses to questions posed by the Financial Gleaner, the JPSCo said "deposits held against customer's accounts are not used to reduce any indebtedness unless the account is being finalised. The security deposit is held solely for the purpose of protecting the company from absconding debtors."
The company noted that in order to open a residential account, a security deposit equivalent to two months' usage is required, and three months for non-residential customers.
"While the dollar value of a customer's consumption increases over time, JPSCo does not automatically increase the deposit," the company said. "Interest is paid on deposits at a rate of 14.5 per cent per annum. The deposit is increased only upon disconnection for non-payment, so if the customer maintains the account without any disconnection, the security deposit will not be increased," it said.
