By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterTHE OFFICE of Utilities Regulation (OUR) says it is not satisfied with the public's apparent lack of interest in the repayment of $290 million under the Jamaica Public Service Company's (JPSCo) fuel rebate and reconciliation programme.
"I'm really disappointed. You think you're trying to get redress for customers, but then you really make a breakthrough like this and people don't pick it up," J. Paul Morgan, the OUR's director general, told The Gleaner Wednesday evening. He said that, according to an initial report on the light and power company's recent advertising campaign to reimburse the remaining 110,000 customer accounts, only 1,891 applications had been received.
PUBLISHED
In April, the JPSCo was instructed by the utilities regulating body to have published, in the print media, the names and account numbers of customers to whom the rebate is due. At the time, Mr. Morgan had stated, during an OUR quarterly press conference, that the advertisements were to appear in April and October each year and should provide information on the process to claim and recover the amounts payable.
However, up to July 25, the JPSCo had printed 105,000 names and account numbers in compliance with the directive, but credited only $1,045,486 to customer accounts.
In 1999, a decision was made by Parliament that the JPSCo should repay the $2.9 billion it overcharged customers under the fuel clause of the tariff, during the period August 1993 to December 1998. The OUR was subsequently mandated to validate the rebate to customers.
After the initial rebate payments were completed between February and August of 1999, an audit, conducted by the JPSCo's independent auditors and reviewed by the OUR, showed that 356,483 accounts had been under-credited to the tune of $687.07 million. It was also discovered that another 323,555 accounts had, collectively, been rebated a total of $601.64 million more than they should have been paid. The JPSCo has, however, recovered all but $33 million of the excessive rebate.
INACTIVE ACCOUNTS
Up until April, the only customers who had yet to receive their rebates were those whose accounts were now inactive. The inactive accounts are those which were closed, whether or not customers opened new accounts at the same or different locations.
As the JPSCo was unable to locate these persons, even after cross-referencing with existing accounts, the new measures were implemented to locate the remaining customers to whom monies are due.
The OUR has given the JPSCo until the end of 2005 to honour bona fide claims. After that a decision will have to be taken, in conjunction with the light and power company's external auditors, as to the appropriate treatment of the outstanding payables, the OUR has said.
