Business View Caribbean - July 2015 81
require a dynamic approach with multiple solutions,
some of which will be different from what we require
for paying customers.”
While JPS may be an old company, Tomblin and her
team are implementing innovative new programs that
are customer friendly, such as pre-paid metering, mo-
bile money, demand-side management, and net bill-
ing, which allows customers who own renewable en-
ergy generators, such as photovoltaic (solar) systems
and wind turbines, to generate electricity for personal
use and then sell any excess back to JPS at wholesale
prices set by the country’s utility regulator, the Office of
Utilities Regulation (OUR).
They are also looking forward to a planned conversion
of the company’s 120 megawatt plant at Bogue, Mon-
tego Bay to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG),
which will help to wean its reliance on imported oil
(oil is used for 95 percent of the electricity generat-
ed in Jamaica by JPS, as well as by the Independent
Power Producers (IPPs) from which the company buys
electricity for distribution to customers), while at the
same time, saving its customers money. According to
Tomblin, the natural gas, which will come in mobilized
containers from Florida in liquid form, and then be re-
gassed for use, is a game changer, since it’s the first
time ever that that the U.S. has been allowed to sell
gas to Jamaica.
Tomblin believes that the future of Jamaica’s energy
sector will not only rely on different methods of power
generation, but also on conservation and energy effi-
ciency. The company actually sells solar panels, hybrid
solar/windmills, and energy saving and management
devices and has invested significantly in customer ed-
