The Private Sector Organization, PSOJ, has commended the decision by the government to relieve the Office of Utilities Regulation, OUR of all procurement responsibilities for the base-load electricity generation project.
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell announced in parliament on Tuesday, that Cabinet will now take charge of the procurement responsibility.
Cabinet will exercise that responsibility through the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team, ESET.
The PSOJ is one of the institutions that had advocated for the removal of the OUR from the procurement process of the base-load generation project.
PSOJ President Chris Zacca is welcoming the move.
Energy consultant Steven Wedderburn also supports the move to strip the OUR of its procurement responsibilities for the project.
But he too is raising concern about the Cabinet’s long term involvement with small scale procurement projects.
Wedderburn says the Development Bank of Jamaica is an ideal entity for the government to include in the procurement process, given its expertise in handling public-private partnerships.
Meanwhile, former Energy Minister Clive Mullings is not supportive of the decision to strip the OUR of its procurement responsibilities.
