THE JAMAICA Bureau of Standards said Friday it will be going ahead with plans to file charges against the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) this week for frustrating its attempts to test electrical meters.
It also dismissed the light and power company's claims to the contrary.
"The attorney has advised me that they got their documentation and that on Tuesday they will advise me as to what is the next step in the court," the Bureau's executive director, Dr. Omar Thomas, said.
The two organisations have been arguing over the JPSCo's alleged reaction to a customer who, media reports indicate, complained about getting a $150,000 electricity bill.
Dr. Thomas said while there was an agreement between the two companies to examine the meter, the JPSCo later replaced the meter without consultation.
In a paid advertisement Friday, the Bureau said JPSCo has been resisting regulatory protocol established by the Bureau of Standards since July 2001.
Talks between the two sides have faltered, especially as the Bureau prepares to introduce a standards compliance programme where containers of all imported electrical meters are detained and tested at the ports of entry. JPSCo officials worry the new costs to test meters will be more than the cost of a new meter.
But the Bureau stressed that while there is a requirement for the JPSCo to submit samples of all models of meters for type testing, the cost of this service to the JPSCo is J$2.00 per meter.
"We are stating the facts. We are not in any war with anybody. Our job is to protect the consumers and uphold the Jamaican law," said Dr. Thomas.
The Bureau said it is receiving numerous complaints from members of the commercial sector and the general public about the inaccuracies and lack of confidence of the JPSCo's meters.
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However, in a statement Thursday, Nigel Grant, JPSCo's chief marketing officer, said the Bureau did not communicate the complaints to the JPSCo and so the company was unaware of them. He said the electricity company had always tested its meters against a Bureau certified meter and that it received no formal request from the standards agency regarding meter testing for commercial customers who have complained about meter accuracy.
Mr. Grant said the company only received telephone calls about testing a meter belonging to a Bureau board member. JPSCO said it asked repeatedly for a written complaint but this was never received.
JPSCo said at "no time was the meter in question sequestered by the (Bureau) for testing nor was the company notified of any such action or intention."
But Dr. Thomas dismissed the company's claims as "nonsense."
"They are not going to confuse the Bureau with such arguments. As far as we are concerned they use tactics of obfuscation, delays and circumlocution in order to frustrate the efforts of an officer to carry out his legal duties," he said.
