LETTER OF THE DAY - Misleading JPS advertisement
Published:Friday | June 11, 2010 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The Gleaner of June 9 carried a full-page advertisement from the Jamaica Public Service Company, saying 'JPS rates lower than many Caribbean territories' for residential, commercial and industrial customers. The advertisement could not be more shameful and is very misleading. Note must also be taken of the relevant currency that the ad states that these "average monthly bills" were sent to these customers.
Guyana and Haiti are the two Caribbean countries with the lowest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita but were not featured in the advertisement. Jamaica's GDP per capita is US$4,870 and all the other countries in this advertisement have a higher GDP per capita averaging between US$10,000 and US$35,000 per capita. Isn't it then shameful that JPS would want us to believe that electricity in Jamaica is much cheaper than that of the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Curaçao, St Lucia, and the other countries in this ad?
If we look on the population of the featured countries, Jamaica, with approximately 2.8 million people, is the most populous in the English-speaking Caribbean. The other countries which are much smaller and less populous are into manufacturing, export, services, and have over the years strengthened their currencies against the United States dollar, while in Jamaica, on the other hand, imports exceed exports and the country is struggling to keep her currency stable against the US dollar.
The irony of all of this is an application by the JPS to the Office of Utilities Regulation for a tariff increase, but 'JPS rates lower than many Caribbean territories'. The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, like residential, commercial and industrial customers, would do well with a decrease in their electricity bills and not the anticipated increase that this company is seeking.
I am, etc.,
Rodwin Green