Erica James-King, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE JAMAICA Public Service Company (JPSCo) is losing almost 20 per cent of its revenue to electricity thieves both residential and commercial.
"It is a significant challenge and losses are running us in the region of 17 per cent to 18 per cent and we believe we need all the help we can get to address this issue," Robert Patrick, JPSCo's chief operating officer told The Sunday Gleaner.
Against this background the light and power company which lost some US$20 million within a 12-month period last year alone, has renewed its crackdown on electricity thieves islandwide.
According to the JPSCo, through systematic and sustained raids it will be removing illegal connections of both commercial and residential customers, and it would turn to the police for help in volatile communities. Another prong of its anti-illegal connection strategy, the company indicates, is the stepping up of awareness programmes through the media and its community representatives to impress upon citizens the importance of being legal customers.
Some problem communities include Flankers and Norwood in St. James, and Majesty Gardens and Allman Town in Kingston. In March, the JPSCo disconnected more than 150 illegal connections in Allman Town in Kingston.
"It is going to take substantial effort on our path to reverse that trend," Mr. Patrick said of the electricity theft.
NO JOB LOSSES
Meanwhile, there will be no job losses as the island's light and power company moves to commission its most technology-driven power station into operation this Tuesday, at Bogue in St. James.
The move will see some 120 megawatts (MW) of power being supplied into the national electricity grid. But instead of workers joining the unemployment line, JPSCo will be more than tripling its workforce at the high-tech, state-of-the art facilities at Bogue.
That assurance came from Mr. Patrick who said, "It creates an opportunity for greater levels of efficiency, but this is an expansion project, so in fairness it has not been the basis of any particular downsizing activity."
Responding to queries from The Sunday Gleaner about the level of staff employment at the Bogue location, Mr. Patrick pointed out that the number on staff has grown from 17 when the Bogue expansion pro-gramme began to the current staff of 45. He is optimistic that the overall staff complement will be 53, tripling the number it had when the programme started.
JPSCo has ploughed in excess of US$100 million in the Bogue expansion programme, which entails the construction of a combined-cycle plant. Phase I of the programme was completed last year, channelling some 80MW of generating capacity into the system, while Phase II comes to an end Tuesday, and should supply an additional 40MW of generating capacity into the national electricity network.
