John Myers, Staff Reporter
GEDDES
THE OFFICE of Utilities Regulation (OUR) will be taking the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to court in light of the utility company's failure to indicate how it intends to compensate customers who were overbilled last November.
David Geddes, the OUR's director of public and consumer affairs, said yesterday that the JPS had "not furnished the information that we have required yet." The OUR, in response to widespread complaints from the public of receiving excessive electricity bills in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, had directed the JPS to indicate how it intends to compensate the affected customers following an investigation into the matter. The investigation had found that the JPS was at fault in reading the customers' meters. The JPS was given until February 28 to outline exactly how it plans to compensate the 21,000 customers.
"They didn't appeal the directive and they have not complied," Mr. Geddes said. The matter is now in the hands of our legal department ... all the Resident Magistrate has to do is to be satisfied that they have not complied," he added.
The light and power company had
submitted a proposal in March on how to compensate the customers. However, the utility regulator had rejected the proposal, citing concerns that the proposed
methodology would result in some of the affected customers being overcompensated and others undercompensated. OUR officials also questioned whether the proposal was in keeping with the recommendations issued.
Efforts to get a comment from the JPS yesterday were unsuccessful.
