“I
am pleased to report that at its meeting yesterday, Cabinet approved an
amendment to the Customs Act to reflect CET exemptions that had previously been
granted by CARICOM's Council of Trade and Economic Development for a period of
five years from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017.”
Minister of Science,
Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell in a presentation to the House
of Representatives on Tuesday February 19th 2013
Unless
you are not a huge fan of CVM TV, by now you may have seen my
interview on CVM at Sunrise on Monday May 20th 2013 on which I
briefly discussed Prepaid Power. This wasn’t the best
of interviews, being as it was my first interview, but I held my own and made
suggestions on how Prepaid Power may be introduced in Jamaica.
Prepaid
Power is now topical, having been proposed earlier this Tuesday February 19th
2013 by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell in
a presentation to the House of Representatives as stated in the article “Prepaid
power? - Gov't flirts with possibility of buying electricity before actual use”,
Published Wednesday February 20, 2013 by Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.
In this fora, he proposed the following:
1.
Removal of CET (Common External Tariff)
on sixteen (16) Energy Saving devices e.g. Power timers, UPS (Uninterruptible
Power Supply)
2.
Removal of GCT (General Consumption Tax)
on thirty one (31) Energy Saving devices directly related to Alternative Energy
e.g. Solar Panels, Solar Inverters, Power Transfer Switches and Servers
This,
along with a decrease in the Electricity Rates in July 2013 for Industrial
Manufacturers to encourage production as noted in article “Paulwell
promises reduction in Electricity bills by July”,
published Tuesday, February 19, 2013 | 3:05 PM, The Jamaica Observer
as noted in paves the way for Prepaid Power for Residential customers.
The
equipment for customer to accurately measure and do power audits are necessary
part of Prepaid Power will be cheaper and easily affordable as described in my blog
article entitled “JPS
Co introduces Prepaid Power and reduces Industrial Electricity Rates in July
2013 - JPS Co copies Telecom Providers as it performs The Last Exorcism Part II
of Jamaicans stealing Electricity”.
Despite
the reservation many may have about Prepaid Power, it presents a chance to make
Energy efficiency a way of life for Jamaicans if implemented as described in my
blog
article entitled “JPS
Co to introduce PrepaidPower and other Services by 2013 - Twilight Saga
Breaking Dawn 2 Signals Coming Competition from Alternative Energy”.
Especially
as we’re now heading into the Atlantic Hurricane Season, a period of Turbulent
weather associated with Dry spells, rainy period, hurricanes and loss of power
as noted in my blog
article entitled “Neville
Bell Hurricane Barbara the first for Atlantic and Pacific Hurricane Season
starting Saturday June 1 2012 - Caribbean theatre for the Class of Hurricanes
in Monsters University”.
But
a worse storm is coming; it’s called the Summer Holidays…with children!
With the kids at home, the worry of the
electricity bill skyrocketing is now very real, as they have to be kept cool to
avoid them getting dehydrated. So with Prepaid Power coming in July 2013, the
best power saving tips I can offer are as follows:
1. Keep
the kids outdoors and hydrated
2. Wear
light coloured clothing while indoors
3. Plug
out appliances when not in use
4. Turn
off the main Breaker when traveling for long periods
Hopefully
too, the GOJ (Government of Jamaica) will also ban the importation of
Incandescent Bulbs as it tries to make Fluorescent and LED (Light Emitting
Diode) bulbs cheaper and more accessible via the revive Cuban Light as the
newly rebranded Cuba-Jamaica Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Project as
described in my blog
article entitled “Minister
Paulwell revives Cuban Light Bulb Program - How to Ban Incandescent Bulbs and
focus on production of LED Bulbs in Jamaica”
Marketing
Prepaid Power using catch names for the Blocks of power i.e. Chip for 3 day,
Pebble for 7 days, Rock for a fortnight and Block for a 3 day period. A Chip, a
Pebble a Rock and a Block would make Prepaid Power The Kings of Summer
(2013).
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