Duty reduced on imported solar water heaters

Robert Pickersgill

THE CUSTOMS duty on imported solar water heaters has been reduced from 20 per cent to 5 per cent as an incentive to promote the use of non-oil sources of energy, Mining and Energy Minister, Bobby Pickersgill reported earlier this week.

The Minister told Parliament that the country's high energy consumption cost more than US$2 billion over five years. This, he said, required conservation of energy and diversification into local sources of energy.

Adding that no General Consumption Tax (GCT) was charged on the importation of solar and low energy equipment and devices, Mr. Pickersgill said that the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) had facilitated the formation of an association of solar equipment and service providers.

Members will be expected "to work together in promoting the use of solar energy equipment and products, from photovoltaics to solar water heaters", he said.

The Minister also reported that the PCJ, in conjunction with an overseas company and the Jamaica Public Service Com-pany, was at an advanced stage in the process leading to the development of a 20-megawatt wind farm at Wington in Manchester.

In its drive to convert many charcoal users to use a more environmentally friendly fuel, the PCJ had distributed some 5,000 liquified petroleum gas stoves islandwide through the Social Security Division of the Ministry of Labour, Mr. Pickersgill said.

Noting that Petrojam had, in several instances, partially absorbed the increased cost of oil imports, the Minister said he was not satisfied that the refinery's efforts to suppress fuel prices had always benefited the consumer to the extent expected.

He explained that Government had adopted several strategies over the last two years to keep the rise in fuel price in check, including the concessionary arrangements under the San Jose Accord and the foregoing of some $300 million in Ad Valorem taxes.

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