THE OPPOSITION has called for the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to release the details of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS)'s application for a rate increase.
The JPS has received an automatic 3.5 per cent rate increase to take effect next month.
But yesterday the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) also called for the OUR to hold public hearings prior to its consideration of the application.
"The Opposition is determined to ensure that the provisions in the JPS license are not used to gouge unjustified increases from the public," the Shadow Cabinet said in a statement yesterday.
MEDIUM TERM CONCERNS
The Shadow Cabinet said it was even more concerned about the medium term plans for the acquisition of new generating equipment. According to the JLP, the equipment appeared to be based on equipment that is expensive to operate as a result of the high cost of oil.
The Opposition said the expense would see increasing costs being continually passed on to consumers.
A sub-committee comprised of Opposition Members of Parliament Audley Shaw, Clive Mullings, and Pearnel Charles, was named to study the terms of the JPS licence and the short, medium and long-term plans for generating electricity, for early report to the Shadow Cabinet.
The JLP argued that what was required was "a low cost road to electricity generation rather than the high cost on which the country is now embarked."
