THE EDITOR, Sir:In the article "Broilers to triple capacity at cogeneration plant", published in the Financial Gleaner, December 5, 2008, the Jamaica Public Service Company's (JPS) response was misrepresented.
The reporter called on Tuesday to enquire about the nature of the contract between the JPS and Jamaica Broilers regarding the purchase of power from their new plant, and what price would be paid.
I was not able to immediately provide answers to her questions, but after speaking to the relevant persons in-house, I did call her back and told her that the JPS did not have a contract with Jamaica Broilers, and that the Broilers group should be talking to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).
She then asked if we had had any discussions at all with Jamaica Broilers and I indicated that we had had preliminary discussions, but were not currently engaged in any regarding the project.
I cannot see how this can honestly be represented as the "JPS chose not to comment".
The facts of the matter are as follows:
At the moment, the JPS is not considering any proposal from Jamaica Broilers for provision of electricity from their proposed new capacity. Jamaica Broilers did make a proposal to the JPS some months ago, but in a letter dated October 10, 2008, the JPS redirected them to the OUR, as the proposal was not in keeping with the regulatory framework within which we operate. The OUR is responsible for setting the guidelines for new capacity development, which includes the pricing of power projects. Also, the regulator has responsibility for anticipating future power requirements and determining the best options that should be explored. In this regard, the OUR periodically issues requests for proposals (RFPs) as part of that ongoing process. Jamaica Broilers is free to respond to such requests from the OUR, but apparently chose not to respond to to the recent RFP issued by the OUR. The JPS has to be directed by the OUR before engaging in power purchase agreement discussions with any entity.Winsome D. Callum
Head of Corporate Communications
Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Gleaner apologises for the misrepresentation and the inconvenience to Ms Callum and the JPS.