Paulwell floats solar systems for light thieves

A former energy minister has proposed a $20 billion renewable programme which would see light thieves being provided with solar electric systems to get them off the grid.

Phillip Paulwell, the opposition spokesman on energy, said yesterday that 200,000 persons are stealing power from the national grid, and this has to be paid for by legitimate customers.

"I am told by the OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation) that 17.5 per cent of the bills that you pay comprise electricity theft. So if your bill is $6,000, out of that $6,000, some $1,050 is for the electricity theft. If your bill is $15,000, $2,625 of that is because of the theft of electricity," Paulwell said.

He acknowledged that electricity theft has posed "a problem for us for many years" and suggested that a new way be found to deal with the problem. He likened his suggestion to the Universal Service Fund, which was established under his watch. The fund was set up to collect and manage a service levy from the companies operating in the local telecommunications sector, on international calls terminating in Jamaica.

"I have gotten some people to look at how we can generate in a household using 200 to 250 kilowatt hour (kWh), what solution we can provide for them who are stealing to enable them to get off the grid. The proposal is that we use solar," he said.

Paulwell said that based on his projections, the cost of an entire solar package by 2023, for 200kWh of electricity would be in the region of $100,000.

He said that the state could invest some $4 billion per year over five years to provide a solar solution for those who currently steal electricity. The total cost would be $20 billion.

"But you can get all of those 200,000 from the grid and free up so that the legitimate user would be able to see a reduction in their bill by 17.5 per cent," he said.

Paulwell said that the solar systems could be paid for with money collected from Jamaicans to pay for a hedge on oil.

"I submit that the stealing of electricity is not only a JPSCo problem but a national one that requires the active involvement of the Government to solve. It is for that reason that I'm proposing that a portion of the funds collected for the hedge be used to solve this perennial problem. The people will win, as this will result in the lowering of the cost of electricity to legitimate consumers while achieving universal access to electricity for the entire country," Paulwell said.