THE OFFICE of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has set an early February timetable to reveal the contents of the latest Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) report into last year's controversial billing fiasco.J. Paul Morgan, OUR director general, told The Gleaner yesterday that he received the light and power company's report on Tuesday. However, he said he would not be willing to reveal the contents until the OUR has had time to properly examine the document.
ANALYSIS CONTINUED
"We are actually trying to analyse it and digest it right now," Mr. Morgan said.
The OUR director-general noted though that he has not yet seen anything which would adequately address his concern that the quality controls in the JPS billing system are inadequate.
"My quick reading of this report hasn't caused me to change my view," he said. Mr. Morgan had previously suggested that the JPS failed to look into the unusually high bills before sending them out to customers.
He added that the OUR has an internal plan to complete its work on the report by the end of the month, allowing the regulatory body to address the public, possibly during the first week of February.
IRREGULAR ELECTRICITY BILLS
Last month the OUR revealed that 135,000 JPS customers had received irregular electricity bills since Hurricane Ivan hit the island in September.
The regulatory body received the information from the JPS after launching an investigation into the exorbitant bills that led to more than 1,000 formal complaints from angry customers.
According to the JPS, however, the majority of those irregular bills, related to customers who had been undercharged for their electricity consumption.
