In a press release, the light and power company stated that overall electricity consumption for 2008 had been less than electricity usage for 2007.

"So far, the peak demand (the highest demand for any one day) for electricity consumption is approximately 621 megawatt-hours (MWh), compared with a peak demand of 629MWh for 2007. Peak demand for 2006 was approximately 625MWh," the release stated.

The JPS said the reduction in electricity usage in 2008 could be due to a number of factors, including the conservation efforts of customers because of the high fuel costs affecting electricity bills last year.

Reduction in usage

The utility company, however, noted that despite the reduction in overall usage for 2008, demand for electricity for the month of December was on par with usage in December 2007.

The peak demand for December 2007 was 603.6MWh on December 18, compared with a peak demand of 604.2MWh for December 23, 2008.

"As expected, lowest electricity usage for the month was on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. However, last year's usage for both days was slightly higher than 2007," said JPS.

In contrast, demand for Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2008 was 523.6MWh and 536 MWh, respectively.

Last year saw numerous JPS customers mounting protests outside the company's offices in several parishes after electricity bills began to soar.

A significant plunge in the cost of oil on the world market, however, has so far resulted in a drop in the cost of electricity.