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Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, has said that the Government will be redoubling its efforts to resolve the country’s energy problems. “The high price of energy has negatively affected our economic performance over many years. The significant rise in oil prices has not been matched by similar increases in the value of our country’s exports and...

Fifty schools across the island received computers, on May 8, courtesy of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s charitable arm, Scotia Foundation. The institutions comprised a mix of basic, primary and all age and Junior high schools. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the donation, held at the Scotia Centre in downtown Kingston, Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites,...

The country could see a reduction of some 20 per cent in the national electricity bill or $40 million annually for street lights, with the installation of energy saving Light Emitting Diode (LED) fixtures across the island, under a pilot project. This was stated by Minister of Local Government and Community Development,  Hon. Noel Arscott, at a press conference, held...

The Institute of Jamaica will be staging a Grand Fair on Friday, May 4, at its Downtown Kingston location, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Deputy Director at the Institute of Jamaica, Gillian Corrodus, informed that the event forms part of the activities to mark Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence, and will focus on reviving all aspects of the Jamaican...

With support of a US$20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the first phase of the Government’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation programme has been launched. It will be executed over a four-year period. It is expected that this phase will realise a reduction of 13,886 barrels of imported oil, a decrease of 22,609 MWh of electricity consumption and...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, is urging individuals and companies to exploit investment opportunities in new and renewable energies. He was speaking at a press briefing at the Jamaica Conference Centre downtown Kingston on May 2, immediately following the official launch of the Government of Jamaica/Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme. The...

Jamaicans may soon see a lowering of rates on both local and international calls. This is as a result of the passing of the Telecommunications (Amendment) Act 2012 on Tuesday (May 1) by the House of Representatives. The legislation grants the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) power to set interim rates for wholesale and retail services where there is a...

Cabinet has approved the formation of the Jamaica Gas Trust (JGT), which will be the Special Purpose Vehicle that executes the major commercial agreements under the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project. These include the agreements for LNG Sale & Purchase, Terminal Use, Gas Sales, and Pipeline Transportation. The Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, in a press statement on...

The PetroCaribe Development Fund (PCDF) and Wigton Windfarm Limited (Wigton) will be investing several million dollars in funding and training as part of a renewable energy initiative at the Munro College in St. Elizabeth. The initiative will see the PetroCaribe Development Fund investing approximately $7.7 million to rehabilitate the school’s 225 kilowatts (kW) wind turbine while Wigton will assist the...

With the onset of the digital age and the ability for information, material and products to cross boundaries at the speed of light, increasing the difficulty to misuse  brands within the global marketplace, through Intellectual Property (IP) rights, remains critical. This was stated by Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Julian Robinson,...

The continued rise in the cost of oil on the international market has triggered increases in the cost of locally produced energy, which has had a negative ‘domino’ effect on Jamaica’s development, the economy and the people’s way of life. With this in mind, the country’s newly elected Government has embarked on an almost ‘evangelical’ mission to find ways to...

Transformation of the energy sector, to bring more players into the industry so as to achieve greater efficiencies and reduce costs to consumers, was the key focus of the Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Phillip Paulwell, during the first 100 days of his stewardship. The Minister, recognising that Jamaicans are burdened by the high energy prices, said...