Just as Jamaica is trying to recover from Hurricane Melissa's destruction, people are getting hit with higher power bills. The utilities office approved a seven percent hike on December statements for electricity used in November. This comes after many customers dealt with long blackouts from that late October storm.
The regulator said the increase was unavoidable. The hurricane messed up natural gas supplies, forcing the main power company, JPS, to burn pricier fuel to generate electricity. Storm damage also caused a huge drop in overall power sales, which normally spreads out costs. These factors together would have caused a much bigger price spike.
To soften the blow, the power company agreed to spread out some of the extra fuel costs over future months instead of charging it all now. An average home using a typical amount of power might see its bill jump by around six hundred and fifty Jamaican dollars. Officials think it could take half a year for power generation costs to settle back down, and they have told the utility company it needs special permission for any more fuel-related increases during that time.
The regulator said the increase was unavoidable. The hurricane messed up natural gas supplies, forcing the main power company, JPS, to burn pricier fuel to generate electricity. Storm damage also caused a huge drop in overall power sales, which normally spreads out costs. These factors together would have caused a much bigger price spike.
To soften the blow, the power company agreed to spread out some of the extra fuel costs over future months instead of charging it all now. An average home using a typical amount of power might see its bill jump by around six hundred and fifty Jamaican dollars. Officials think it could take half a year for power generation costs to settle back down, and they have told the utility company it needs special permission for any more fuel-related increases during that time.
