Bertram Last Tuesday, Local Government Minister, Arnold Bertram, announced in Parliament the imposition of a 3.14 per cent cess on the electricity bills of the roughly 500,000 customers of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo). The proceeds of the cess, which will be in excess of $500 million annually, will be used to pay for street lights and to expand the service, particularly in rural areas. While the cess is scheduled to take effect of April 1, it becomes effective as soon as the Electric Lighting Act is amended.
Below are excerpts from the Act which Mining and Energy Minister, Anthony Hylton, is expected to bring to Parliament tomorrow for the amendment to be taken.
A BILL entitled an Act to amend the Electric Lighting Act -
Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Representatives of Jamaica, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. This Act may be cited as the Electric Lighting (Amendment) Act, 2002, and shall be read and construed as one with the Electric Lighting Act (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act) and all amendments thereto, and shall come into operation on a day to be appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.
2. Sections 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the principal Act are repealed and the following substituted therefor -
27. - (1) In order to meet the charges for electricity for the purposes of street lighting as set out in subsection (2), and the expenses and obligations of the Local Authority therefor, the Minister responsible for local Government (hereinafter referred to as the "responsible Minister") shall fix an initial cess which shall be at a maximum rate of 3.14 per centum of the total bill charged to the customer in respect of fuel and energy consumed and a company or other person licensed under section 3 (hereinafter called the "licensee") shall apply the cess.
(2) The purposes referred to in subsection (1) are the provision, expansion and maintenance of street lights throughout the island and the obligations relating thereto.
(3) Every modification of the cess shall be made on the application by the licensee to the Office of Utilities Regulation which shall have power to approve, alter or amend the same.
(4) Notice of the imposition of a cess under subsection (1) and the effective date thereof shall be given to the licensee's customers in such manner and at such times as the responsible Minister shall direct.
28. The cess levied under section 27 shall be set out as part of the bill sent to each of the licensee's customers for electricity services provided by the licensee.
29.- (1) The licensee shall keep a proper account (hereinafter referred to as a Street Light Account) and other records in relation to any cess levied under this Act and shall prepare monthly and submit to the responsible Minister, a statement of accounts, setting out:
(a) the funds collected pursuant to the cess;
(b) the amounts of the cess actually billed for;
(c) the outstanding balances on the cess, if any, to be collected; and
(d) such other information as may be relevant to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (c).
(2) The statement of accounts mentioned in this section shall be in a form satisfactory to the responsible Minister, being a form which conforms with established accounting principles; and the accounts shall be audited annually by an auditor appointed by the licensee and approved by that Minister.
(3) The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Local Government shall oversee the keeping of the Street Light Account and may give directions to the licensee in respect of any positive balances indicated at the end of each year, under subsection (1) (c).
30. - (1) The responsible Minister may, in the public interest, exempt any person from payment of cess under section 27.
(2) Any exemption under subsection (1) shall be by order subject to affirmative resolution".
MEMORANDUM OF
OBJECTS AND REASONS
As part of its ongoing drive to expand and maintain street lighting services for the entire island, Government proposes to institute certain measures to ensure sustainability of the services as well as the equitable distribution of the costs of same among customers of the Jamaica Public Service Company.
This Bill seeks, therefore, to amend the Electric Lighting Act so as to empower the Minister of Local Government to fix a cess in order to offset the costs of providing, expanding and maintaining street lights and to require that Company to apply and collect the cess.
Provisions are also made for modification of the cess by application to the Office of Utilities Regulation which is empowered to approve, alter or amend it.
The Bill also empowers the Minister responsible for Local Government to exempt any person from payment of cess.
