News

Laura Redpath, Senior Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Energy and Mining is seeking to lower Jamaica's energy bill by implementing a plan to use liquefied natural gas (LNG), diversifying the country's fuel sources before the next JPS rate adjustment in 2014.

The government entity is working on a diversification strategy where approximately 90 per cent of the existing baseload of Jamaica's electric power grid will be switched to LNG from heavy-fuel oil and automotive-diesel oil.

"We will not realise the massive percentage in energy reduction until LNG comes on-board," said Dr Audley Darmand, senior adviser to James Robertson, the minister of energy and mining.

The Jamaica Public Service Company estimates that consumers may see a 25-30 per cent reduction on their electricity bills.

The minister's senior adviser said the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar, the declining cost of oil on the international market, and the island's stable inflation rate, were all positive signs.

Stabilise the energy

"It is important to stabilise the country's energy so that the country's industry can be stabilised and have a balanced economy," Darmand said.

According to Robertson, at Monday's press briefing at the Ministry of Energy and Mining headquarters, the ministry is seeking to have the LNG initiative implemented by 2012.

"None of our sectors - manufacturing, mining, nobody - could afford to go into another rate increase in 2014," Robertson said.

The minister did not confirm whether renegotiating JPS's 2001 licence, allowing the utility company a rate adjustment every five years, would be the way to go in terms of energy-cost reduction.

Instead, the ministry is relying on new technology to lower energy costs, which includes building new energy units at the current heavy- fuel oil facilities. These are at Old Harbour, St Catherine; Hunts Bay and Rockfort in St Andrew; and Bogue, St James.

"Businessmen are angry, householders are angry and, as a Government, we accept that," Robertson said.

laura.redpath@gleanerjm.com