Just under $39 million has not been paid over to Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and National Water Commission (NWC) customers for breaches of the Guaranteed Standards during the January to March, 2021 period.

The unpaid sum, which is contained in the Office of Utilities Regulation’s (OUR’s) latest Quarterly Performance Report for the January to March 2021 period, is attributed to customers who have not claimed for breaches of the NWC Guaranteed Standards, and for JPS customers awaiting the outcome of that company’s appeal to the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) for force majeure relief from the Guaranteed Standards (GS) and the Overall Standards (OS).

On MSET’s request, OUR submitted its recommendations during the January to March 2021 quarter, on JPS’ application for force majeure relief from the Standards, due to what JPS stated was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.

OUR’s recommendations were accepted and communicated to JPS during the review period. However, JPS has advised that it has asked the energy minister to reconsider the decision. The outcome of that appeal is pending.

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