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Jamaica Public Service

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Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd.
Company typePrivate Company
IndustryEnergy
PredecessorJamaica Electric Light Company
FoundedMay 25, 1923; 102 years ago (1923-05-25) in Kingston, Jamaica
Headquarters
Kingston
,
Jamaica
Area served
Jamaica
ProductsElectricity
OwnerGovernment of Jamaica, Marubeni, Korea Electric Power Corporation
Number of employees
ca. 1600
Websitewww.jpsco.com

The Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. (JPS), is the only electricity utility in Jamaica. As a single buyer, it owns and operates the island's distribution and transmission networks as a monopoly, and also owns a significant share of electricity generation.

Originally founded in 1923 as a private company, JPS was nationalised in 1970. In 2001 it was privatised again, and is now owned by Marubeni and the Korea Electric Power Corporation, with the Government of Jamaica holding a minority stake.

As of 2024, JPS annually sells over 3.3 TWh of electricity to 701,670 customers in Jamaica.[1]

History

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In the early twentieth century Jamaica had several small regional electricity companies. JPS was founded in this competitive market on the 25th May 1923, with just 3,928 customers.[2] Over the next few decades it acquired or merged with rival electricity providers, emerging as the island's dominant power company by 1945.[3]

In 1966 its dominant position was recognised by the Government in the form of the first All-Island Electric Licence, granting it a formal monopoly.[4] Shortly afterwards in 1970 JPS was nationalised by the Government of Hugh Shearer.[5] This new status quo persisted for 31 years until the Government of P. J. Patterson privatised the firm in 2001, as part of a programme of national economic and fiscal reforms. The Jamaican Government sold an 80% stake to the American Mirant Corporation, for US$201 million.[6]

Mirant sold its 80% stake to the Japanese firm Marubeni in 2007, for about US$732 million.[7] Marubeni in turn sold half of its stake in 2009 to the Emirati firm TAQA.[8] After two years TAQA exercised an exit clause to divest, with the Korean firm KEPCO ultimately taking on its 40% share, for US$285 million.[9][10]

As of 2025 JPS is owned 40% by Marubeni, 40% by KEPCO and 19.9% by the Government of Jamaica, with the remainder held by approximately 3,000 private shareholders.[11][12]

Operations

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JPS owns and operates the transmission and distribution networks in Jamaica. It owns a large share of generation, although most electricity is provided by independent power providers, or IPPs. JPS is regulated by the Office of Utilities Regulation, and its activities are governed by the Electricity Act of 2015 and its Electricity Licence, issue in 2016.[13]

Generation

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JPS owners and operates a mixture of diesel, gas and hydropower plants. As of 2024, the generation mix from JPS's plants was 65% gas, 24% diesel and 11% hydro.[14] It also has a stake in the South Jamaica Power Company, which operates a 194 MW gas plant.[15]

As part of the privatisation of JPS in 2001, the generation market was opened to competition.[16] Today IPPs provide 75% of the total generation in Jamaica.[17]

As per the Electricity Licence, JPS has a right of first refusal to replace its own generation.[18] Otherwise new generation is procured by the Generation Procurement Entity.[19]

Transmission and Distribution

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JPS is the sole transmission operator in Jamaica, and owns the transmission network. Its network comprises around 16,000 km of cables ringing the island, of which 1,264 kilometers are 138 kV and 69 kV transmission lines. The distribution system operates at voltages of 24 kV, 12 kV, 13.8 kV and 4 kV.[20]

Customers

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As of 2024 JPS serves 701,670 customers, the vast majority being residential. The majority of demand is from industrial and commercial customers, comprising 63% of the total.[21] The National Water Commission is JPS' single biggest customer, accounting for about 5% of total demand.[22][23]

Jamaicans pay relatively high prices for electricity, around US$0.36 per kWh in 2024.[24] Depending on the metric used, Jamaican power prices are in the top 20 or even top 10 countries worldwide.[25][26]

Losses

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The JPS electricity system in Jamaica suffers high losses. In 2024 its total losses were 27.3%, with a five-year average of 27.8%.[27] The majority of this comes from theft. There are as many as 180,000 illegal connections, equivalent to 26% of the legitimate customer base - an increase from 140,000 illegal connections in 2010.[28][29] The cost of these losses may add as much as 8.7% to the bills of paying customers, with an overall cost of US$260 million.[30] The Government has plans to reduce losses to 12.3% by 2035.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  2. ^ "The Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd" (PDF). Business View Caribbean. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  3. ^ Clarke, Deon. "Electricity in Jamaica". My Island Jamaica. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  4. ^ "The All-Island Electric Licence 1966". No. 55. The Jamaica Gazette Extraordinary. June 16, 1966.
  5. ^ McNaughton, Maurice (21 December 2012). "Fuel the power that drives economy". The Gleaner. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Mirant acquires 80% of Jamaica Public Service Co". Atlanta Business Chronicle. 30 March 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Mirant to sell Caribbean business for $732 mln". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  8. ^ "TAQA can pull out of JPS come July". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  9. ^ "JPS still creating value for Korean investor". The Gleaner. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  10. ^ Gye-man, Kang; Samji, Chung. "EWP Takes Over 40% Share of Jamaica's Largest Power Company". Pulse. Maeil Business News Korea. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 73. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  12. ^ Linton, Latonya. "Gov't Approves Sale of JPS Shares to Korean Company (EWP)". JIS. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Electricity". OUR. Office of Utilities Regulation. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  15. ^ "South Jamaica Power Company (SJPC) Launches New – 194 Mw Natural Gas Plant". Generation Procurement Entity. GPE. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  16. ^ "The Role of Independent Power Providers in Jamaica". Jamaica Energy Partners. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  18. ^ Electricity Licence 2016 (PDF) (Licence, Condition 6-5). 27 January 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  19. ^ "About". Generation Procurement Entity. GPE. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  20. ^ Perez Arbelaez, Jorge; Marzolf, Natacha (2011). Power & Possibility: The Energy Sector in Jamaica (Report). IDB.
  21. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Invest in Energy". Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport. MSETT. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  23. ^ Konold, Mark. "Jamaica Sustainable Energy Roadmap" (PDF). Green Policy Platform. Worldwatch Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  25. ^ Linton, Latonya. "Restructuring of GCT on Electricity Bills Part of Bigger Effort to Reduce Costs". JIS. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  26. ^ Hanna, Lisa (11 September 2011). "Why is my light bill so high?". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  27. ^ "Annual Report 2024" (PDF). JPS. Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. p. 20. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  28. ^ Stewart, Mahiri (6 June 2025). "180,000 Households Still Not Connected to Legal Energy Grid – Vaz". NationwideRadioJM. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  29. ^ Konold, Mark. "Jamaica Sustainable Energy Roadmap" (PDF). Green Policy Platform. Worldwatch Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  30. ^ Linton, Latonya (29 January 2025). "J$40.3 Billion Worth of Electricity Stolen from JPS in 2023". JIS. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  31. ^ Linton, Latonya. "Gov't Develops National Electricity Loss Reduction Plan". JIS. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
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