A JPSCo crew repairs a power line, as part of routine maintenance carried out by the power company.THE JAMAICA Public Service Company generated some 607.1 megawatts of electricity in the second quarter of 2002 to improve the dip in production it has experienced within the last year.
Its present performance is only a slight 0.6 per cent change over the corresponding quarter for last year, but a more significant 4.4 per cent improvement over the 581.6 megawatts produced in the first quarter of 2002.
JPSCo's supplies are generated from steam and slow speed diesel, gas turbines, and hydropower. The latter category almost doubled its generated supply in the last three months, but its current contribution to the power grid remains the lowest at 28 megawatts.
Last year, the monopoly electricity provider produced 3,360.8 megawatt hours of power but sold only a total 2,793.4 MWh from which it generated revenues of $18.9 billion.
In the quarter under review, JPSCo produced a combined 865.8 MWh, boosting its own generated supply with 258.7 megawatts purchased from private suppliers. Of the total generation, the power supply company will earn no revenue from 147.3 megawatts, which have been lost to technical faults, also referred to as line losses, and theft.
Unaccounted for supply in the second quarter has risen almost eight per cent over year ago levels, and the total lost annually has been rising consistently, reaching 567 MWh last year.
Over the past five years, 1997-2001, unaccounted for supplies have grown by 16 per cent, according to figures compiled and published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Residential customers remain the highest consumers of electricity, recording usage last year of 38 per cent of the total sales.
The island experienced a series of power cuts last year as JPSCo moved to improve its generating capacity. Supplies have normalised somewhat. A combined 80 megawatts are to be added to the grid by 2003 from the two new generating plants the company is constructing in Montego Bay. PIOJ says the new plants are being constructed to meet an anticipated 4-6 per cent increase in customers.
