Business groups fed up with indecisive energy policy

Three of Jamaica’s top business lobby groups are publicly chastising Government for its failure to settle on a plan to reduce energy costs by 2015, and is demanding that a decision be made and communicated within 30 days.

The statement by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association follows reports of conflict over energy policy between regulator, the Office of Utilities Regulation, and portfolio minister Phillip Paulwell, as well as OUR’s decision to terminate negotiations with Jamaica Public Service Company for development of a 360 MW LNG plant.

Below is the full text of the press release from the business groups, which bore the title ‘Private Sector Partners’:

“The Private Sector Organization of Jamaica, The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association call for the government to communicate a definite direction in reducing Jamaica’s energy cost by 2015. The government was elected by Jamaicans to make tough decisions. They need to act swiftly as the constant delays are costing the country.

“While the government and the OUR continue to have discourse in the media, the competitiveness of the productive sectors continues to be eroded and our economy stagnates. Jamaicans are overburdened by high electricity costs, which is not only hurting their pockets but thrusting them further into poverty and the time has come for a clear course of action with hard timelines to be disclosed to the country.

“We all know that we cannot continue with the status quo and therefore we must diversify as a matter of urgency, as quite frankly, we cannot afford not to. Our dependency on oil combined with a continuous cycle of discussions continues to cripple the economy. This back and forth with regulators, policy makers and implementers has to stop. The Minister of Energy and Mining along with the OUR needs to lay out a clear road map that will provide the country with a level of confidence as to how we are going to achieve the expectations previously communicated on electricity costs.

“The PSOJ, JCC and the JMA are expecting that within 30 days a decisive statement from the government on the matter will be made.”

business@gleanerjm.com