KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has confirmed that it has no application for, nor are there any current plans to increase electricity rates to strengthen the Electricity Disaster Fund (EDF) following the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July.

The OUR made the disclosure in a press release on Tuesday in an effort to clarify a statement that was misinterpreted during a webinar on Friday.

The OUR said it was discussing the EDF during the seminar when it disclosed that the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) has submitted preliminary estimates of approximately US$26.1 million (J$4.1 billion) to finance recovery efforts following the hurricane. This sum, the OUR said, will be subject to approval after rigorous assessment, and will be taken from the EDF.

The regulations body said that at the webinar, it was mentioned that the OUR would review the EDF, post-Beryl, to ensure it is properly funded to meet future liability arising from natural disaster occurrences, which is the practice for each pay out.

It added that this statement was misinterpreted to mean that the OUR is currently contemplating an increase in electricity rates.

The OUR explained that the EDF is a self-insurance fund which was established by the regulations body in 2004 to set aside a pre-determined sum annually for disaster occurrences. It added that the fund is monitored by the OUR and it is periodically reviewed to ensure that a minimum adequacy threshold is maintained.

“There is no proposal before us to increase customer contribution to the EDF. As the economic regulator, the OUR will analyse costs associated with the recent hurricane events to ensure their legitimacy. Naturally, we will also need to examine where the payment leaves the Fund in terms of its ability to meet future claims and activate OUR’s usual consultation process with all stakeholders, to ensure transparency.   At this stage, that analysis has not yet been done, so any suggestion of the need for an increase is premature,” said OUR’s director-general, Ansord Hewitt, in response to recent public comments.

“Electricity rates are not arbitrarily increased as the Electricity Licence, 2016 provides clear guidelines on how and when such matters are considered, including in the review of tariff application submissions by the JPS, which are due annually or every five years,” the OUR added.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Jamaica’s south coast on July 3, causing flooding, destruction of infrastructure and widespread power outage across several parishes. St Elizabeth, being the hardest hit parish, remained without power for more than a month after the Category 4 storm passed.