(Jamaica Gleaner) KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government of Jamai-ca and the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) have signed off on an amendment to the company’s licence, to allow the Cabinet to manage the procurement pro-cess through the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET).
Minister of Science, Technology, Mining and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, told the House of Representatives Tuesday that the agreement will also grant the JPS the right of first refusal in relation to the replacement of any of its existing generation facilities.
He said that the amendments and related matters are pertinent to the critical and urgent issue of the procurement of the new base load generation capacity. It also removes constraints on the ability of ESET to proceed with its mandate.
The Minister explained that in 2011, the previous administration amended the JPS licence to confer the management and administration of the procurement of new generation capacity on the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).
“We do not believe that this is a role for the regulator. The role of the OUR, as the overall regulator of prescribed electricity services, as outlined in the OUR Act, will be maintained,” he said.
