Jamaica Energy Partners

6 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 JAMA I CA ENERGY PARTNERS “Many having left school and gone through the program have access to jobs, while many others work for established shipping companies worldwide.” Fostering deeper ties with the area’s universities paid off. Before the program rolled out, the plant was run only by seasoned engineers, most of whom were out of touch with modern technologies and trends. Bringing fresh blood from the universities helped increase the plant’s performance and efficiency. “We had multiple unit failures every year,” he shares. “By bringing in core engineers from the universities, our failure rate went all the way down, and our insurance premium also reduced because we mitigated the risk of failures.” “We also bring in environmentalists, safety officers, chemical engineers, and those we cannot absorb after the internship find jobs in other industries due to the internship.” “Also, although we are an engineering company, our scholarship isn’t solely focused on engineering, covering a wide array of recipients like doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, accountants, etc.” As one of several IPPs in Jamaica, JEP has distinguished itself as the country’s only fully 100% Jamaican-run and operated producer, something McKenzie is hugely proud of. “We started that shift in the early 2000s to manage and operate the asset using local expertise, which we have now achieved, unlike our competitors. For example, when building Dr. Bird I, the marine designs, and constructions were done by Jamaican firms.” “In this dimension and others, JEP has become a pioneer in the electric sector, and several other companies who came in later are following our footprints.” “Another distinguishing factor is that we recognize we are a fossil fuel plant. All our assets burn heavy fuel, but we recognize there is an