Vaz warns JPS that it is on a tight deadline to lower electricity costs

Warning that the "clock is ticking", Energy Minister Daryl Vaz on Tuesday urged the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to finalise its decision on the terms governing electricity rates that exist under its current all-island licence, which is set to expire in less than a year. Vaz made the call during his address at the 2026 Jamaica Energy Summit at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston. The forum, which was hosted by JPS under the theme “Powering Forward, Rebuilding Jamaica's Energy Future After Hurricane Melissa”, brought together key stakeholders who launched a series of strategic conversations on the future of the country's electricity sector, one year after the category five storm battered sections of the island. According to Vaz, though this discussion is one that is welcomed, the issue of high electricity cost for consumers needs to be resolved. “At the end of it, all the discussions that you are having, all the panels that you are having, there's only one thing that this minister and this Government wants, and it's lower electricity rates at all costs. It's as simple as that. Everything else comes after. We can talk about everything else after,” said Vaz. “It is the how and the when. Once we can agree that, that is where we are going, we can lock up in a room and we can talk from now until such time as we have. But there has to be a willingness on both sides to accept that and to move into that direction, because that is the commitment that I gave. And that is a commitment that is going to be met whichever way the cookie crumbles," Vaz added. The JPS licence, which is scheduled for expiry in 2027, has received scrutiny from the Government, who in July signalled that it will not facilitate its renewal without renegotiation of the current terms. The Government has also signalled that it is open to exploring other contracts with interested parties. At that time, Vaz had indicated that the Government’s position was that the licence itself, which was signed for a 20-year period and gives JPS the power to operate, was flawed, resulting in flawed service. However, Vaz noted that the Government will continue to operate under those conditions as mandated, until the licence expires. According to Vaz, under its current terms, the JPS licence has not served the country well and has yielded electricity prices which are amongst the highest in the region. On Tuesday, he maintained that if the prices are not lowered, the country will remain at a disadvantage. “Hard decisions sometimes are necessary, and I'm the one who signed the letter...The bottom line is that I just say to you that we not only want it, we need it as a country. If we don't get it as a country, we will just continue to languish," Vaz pressed, as he pointed to another commitment to achieve a 50 per cent use of renewables in the country’s electricity supply by 2030. "You [JPS] have a few PPAs [power purchase agreements] to sign for me, and it's been long outstanding. So I look forward to those being signed in short order so I can get on with the renewables. Remember the commitment that the prime minister instructed me: 50 per cent renewables by 2030. It started at 30 per cent by 2030. And I don't know, [but] one morning I got a call saying it's no longer 30, it's 50. And if I don't do that, then I will have to answer to him [Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness], and answer to the people of Jamaica. So whatever it is, let's sit down and work it out. But the clock is ticking on me," he said. In July, Vaz argued that the reformation of the arrangements under the JPS existing licence must include an increase in the use of renewable energy to generate the country’s electricity. According to Vaz, there has been a significant global reduction in the cost of renewables, and the Government is determined that electricity consumers should be placed in the best position to benefit from these developments. Vaz argued that the current licensing arrangements with the JPS does not provide sufficient incentives to bring renewables onto the grid at scale, and it provides for generation via imported fossil fuels which is not cost-effective.