Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
STARTING NEXT year the Government of Jamaica will grant licences for entities to sell surplus electricity directly to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS)-run national grid. Phillip Paulwell, the Minister of Commerce, Science, and Technology, made the announcement yesterday.
Currently, companies have to negotiate with the JPS but as of January 1, according to Mr. Paulwell, all interested parties will have to do is apply for a licence from the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).
Mr. Paulwell, who has ministerial responsibility for energy, was speaking at the launch of the Petrojam Ethanol Dehydration Plant on Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston.
He said that, under 'net metering', those selling their surplus to the national grid would receive incentives in the form of a premium. This would amount to 15 to 25 per cent of the cost of electricity generation.
He added that incentives are also on the table for producers of renewable energy, towards a national target of 140 megawatts (15 per cent of Jamaica's supply), being renewable-generated by 2010. These incentives will be in the form of import duty concessions, currently being negotiated between his ministry and the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
