Is JPS a monopoly or not? 

I’m Kalilah Reynolds, financial journalist and educator based in Jamaica.

My comments sections were burning up recently after our Taking Stock episode with JPS because their rep said this… “JPS is not a monopoly”

“JPS is not a monopoly in electricity generation. In fact our market share of electricity generation is only about a third, or 33%; 66% of electricity comes from private users, not JPS,” JPS’s Director of System Operations, Lincoy Small said.

And that left a lot of viewers confused. So let’s talk about it. 

A monopoly is any market where there is no competition.  One person or company is the only supplier of a particular thing.  In Jamaica, JPS is the only company that distributes electricity.  So it was kinda wild to hear their rep say, they don’t have a monopoly.

But if you notice in that clip, Lincoy Small, JPS’s Director of System Operations, was very careful to say that the company doesn’t have a monopoly in energy generation. 

Up to 2022, there were Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that generate electricity and sell it to JPS, which in turn distributes it to us.  These include Wigton Wind Farm, Jamaica Energy Producers, West Kingston Power Partners, New Fortress Energy, and others

About 66% of Jamaica’s electricity generation comes from IPPs. It would be much harder and much much more expensive for one company to provide enough electricity to power the entire island. Especially this summer in this scorching heat. 

Now what JPS does have a monopoly on is energy distribution. That’s how electricity actually reaches your home or business. 

All those street lights and wires are owned by JPS. There’s no other company on the island that can run electricity from the grid to your homes. That’s all JPS, and that’s a monopoly. 

Your only other option is to go solar.  It’s very expensive upfront, but there are financing options available, and that investment will pay for itself over time.  And you can even sell any excess electricity to JPS!

And that’s the bottom line.