Damion Mitchell, News Coordinator - Radio

Damian Obiglio, president and chief executive officer of JPS. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) on Tuesday warned that the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) could incur further financial losses if it failed to reduce electricity theft by the next tariff review due in 2009.

The OUR said that, of the 23 per cent of electricity being lost by the light and power company, it is absorbing about seven per cent, as the current tariff allows for 15.8 per cent to be recovered from bill-paying consumers.

David Geddes, the OUR's director of consumer affairs and customer service, said that at the time of the next tariff review it could be assumed that the percentage of lost electricity would have been reduced. Against this background, the recoverable percentage factored in consumers' bills would also be reduced.

"If the losses are escalating and not coming down, OUR could in fact say we need to lower the lost target and what we would allow to pass through the tariff," he said.

But according to Mr. Geddes, that position would be arrived at after examining JPS' efforts to reduce the amount of lost electricity including electricity theft, which accounts for the greatest portion.

Yesterday JPS reported that it was losing US$36 million (or J$2.4 billion) a year due to electricity theft.

But Damian Obiglio, the company's president and chief executive officer, also warned that there would be increased efforts to target the perpetrators this year.

"We did intensify, in 2006, the inspection of large customers. They have to expect that we will be doing that more than two or three times for the same customers this year," he said.

Larger customers

Mr. Obiglio was speaking with reporters following a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica function in St. Andrew. According to him, while electricity theft is prevalent in some inner-city communities, the practice is even more worrying among larger customers and has worsened since last year's increase in electricity bills.

The JPS head said several large companies are now stealing power.

"We keep finding big businesses in different areas of the economy that are stealing electricity and it's getting more sophisticated day by day."

Mr. Obiglio also revealed that, earlier this week, a large restaurant in the Corporate Area was found to have stolen about $3 million worth of electricity. This followed a similar case last week involving a major financial company also in the Corporate Area.

But, Mr. Obiglio said it has been found that many operators of large businesses are unaware that their companies have been stealing electricity.