CONSUMERS are facing an imminent increase in the cost for electrical inspection of their premises.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Daryl Vaz sounded the warning as he gave an update to the House of Representatives on the newly created government electrical regulator (GER), which became operational effective November 1, 2021.

Vaz made the sobering revelation in Parliament that the current fees have been kept low artificially due to government subsidy, hinting that market conditions have made this impractical to continue.

He advised Parliament that the fees for inspections and to submit drawings to the government electrical regulator were last increased in 1991 – 31 years ago. Inspection fees were calculated based on that 1991 fees schedule and varied based on the items installed.

Vaz pointed out that Cabinet and the Parliament of 2015 had taken a decision to privatise the electrical inspection function and that Parliament of 2020 presented no change to the fees schedule during the process of passing the new regulations for the GER.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/imminent-increase-electrical-inspection-fees-could-rise-for-inflation-weary-jamaicans_242936