Pay it forward J.P.S!

I watched a movie a few years ago that I really liked. I don’t remember the name of it but it was about a little boy who decided that if he did a good deed and could encourage others to do likewise he could change the world.

It might sound as if the plot of the movie is far removed from our harsh realities, but why can’t we take its message of helping others and see where it leads us?

It certainly has worked for some entities, the positive publicity that they receive from their ‘good deeds’ usually equals to an increase in profits. This is because consumers like to see ‘big’ businesses which are often perceived as cold and heartless turning around their image and helping the ‘little’ man on the street.

J.P.S

The acronym J.P.S. means The Jamaica Public Service, however there are other less pleasant names that it has been referred to by some consumers which I will not stoop so low so as to repeat them.

The view of many Jamaican consumers is that they are constantly being overcharged for their electricity bills. I have had several people comment that it made no difference what they did  at home as their electricity bills showed no reduction despite all their efforts.

Changes

I have often maintained that having a monopoly on any essential service is a disadvantage to that society. This is because when choice is eliminated then the consumer is forced to accept the situation as there is no ‘other’ service with which to compete.

There have been recent developments which have given me hope though that there are changes on the horizon. Before those changes come on stream however consumers still struggle to pay their sometimes hefty bills.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel as on February 17, 2015, The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) issued a directive for the Jamaica Public service to refund customers just under $1 billion..
The OUR said that the money, totalling $973,373 million, was for foreign exchange adjustments that were made to customers’ bills without consultation.

So now J.P.S. has the unique opportunity to change their public image by ‘giving’ back instead of taking from its customers.  I am not sure how the refund will be allocated, but as a start, I have several suggestions as to how  they could start the process.

My suggestion is no electricity bills for everyone for six months.
What’s your take on the issue? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley
Gleaner online Writer

Tags: electricity bills