jps to amend customers' bills
Minister of Energy, Clive Mullings, has received the assurance from JPS that Portmore residents and all JPS customers who received bills for periods in excess of their regular billing cycle will be credited on their next bill.
The Minister summoned the JPS and OUR to a meeting today (Tuesday, September 2, 2008) and arising out of this meeting, the JPS agreed that the affected customers would be credited equivalent to the period for which they were charged above the regular billing cycle.
The JPS acknowledged that there was a problem where some customers were billed for up to 41 days. The normal billing cycle is for 30-35 days.
In order to address this situation, the utility company has agreed to submit to the OUR for approval, a sample of the calculation they will use to credit the bills of the affected customers.
Minister Mullings has advised JPS to seriously consider replacing the current meters with smart and or electronic ones which would make the billing process far more accurate and lend itself to consumer confidence. He suggested a pilot pre-paid billing system to which the JPS agreed.
Regarding, the restoration of electricity following the passing of Tropical Storm Gustav, the Minister was informed that most customers with the exception of some cases in St. Thomas, Portland, St. Mary, and Kingston and St. Andrew had had their electricity restored. Inaccessible roadways as well as downed cables and poles have been hampering the restoration efforts in these areas.
Posted 2008 September 04