US Consortium Wins Bid For New Power Generating Plant

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Azurest Cambridge, a United States consortium, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the new power generating plant to fulfill the mandate of bringing cheaper electricity to the country .

The announcement, made by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) on Wednesday, said Azurest Cambridge was chosen over Energy World, Energize Jamaica and Optimal Energy in the bidding process for the 360-megawatt power project.

“We are pleased to have been accorded the honour by the government of Jamaica and the OUR to lead this project for Jamaica. We think we have a very competitive solution,” said Kenneth Allen, managing director of Azurest Partners.

He acknowledged that a significant amount of work needs to be done and looks forward to working with the OUR, the Government of Jamaica and the light and power company the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) JPS to get the project to fruition.

The consortium will have its bid bond ready in 15 days and take the necessary steps to secure financing for the project which is estimated to cost U$690 million.

The OUR’s Director of regulation, policy, monitoring and enforcement, Ansord Hewitt, said if the consortium fails to post this bond, the project will be offered to Energy World International out of Hong Kong, which came in second.

The 360-megawatt power plant is a critical component of plans by the Government to slash energy cost from the current rate of US$0.42 cents per kilowatt-hour.

“Until we get to between US$0.15 and US$0.18 cents, Jamaica has no future, and this 360-megawatt plant is critical to that,” said Energy Minister, Phillip Paulwell

According to Paulwell, the electricity cost in Jamaica will be cut in half over the medium to long term (2016-2018), based on the price quoted by Azurest Cambridge as well as a raft of other measures being implemented to lower the cost of energy.