The electric vehicle (EV) sector will receive a boost next year, as energy company Jamaica Public Service Co. (JPS) prepares to roll out an additional ten new charging stations for EVs island-wide, over the course of 2023. This initiative will help Jamaica to keep pace with global trends in EV adoption. The announcement of the new charging stations was made by Business Development Director at JPS, Dionne Nugent, while speaking at the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology’s webinar on EVs entitled “Framework for Electric Mobility and Plans for the Charging Networks”.

She stated that: “The whole idea is to have a readily available network of chargers that will be able to ensure that wherever you are in Jamaica, from Morant Point to Negril Point, anywhere along those major corridors you will be able to charge.”

Currently, there are ten cashless, convenient, and easy-to-use “Charge and Go” stations in the country using European standards, being rapid and fast. JPS was the first to install such ports on the island for electric-powered vehicles, which are cheaper to fuel. The ports are located in several towns across the country: Boot Service Station in Drax Hall, St Ann; TotalEnergies in Ironshore, St James, as well as Manor Park and Harbour View in St Andrew; and Port Antonio in Portland, to name a few. Since then, private entities such as resorts and homeowners have installed electric charging ports on their properties.

Additionally, as the country commemorated Energy Week, JPS partnered in the hosting of an Electric Vehicle Expo hosted by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), dubbed “Regional EV-lution III Electric Vehicle Expo”. The Expo was held under the theme “Our Transportation Future is Electric” and was staged at the University of the West Indies’ Mona Campus’s Assembly Hall on Friday, November 25.

During that Expo’s opening ceremony, Ms Nugent also underscored to the students and energy sector leaders in attendance, JPS’ commitment to building a sustainable, electric mobility ecosystem which includes implementing the elements required to ensure the growth and expansion of this emerging industry

“We also know that our EVs will need to be charged at home, so now we are also working on the standardisation protocols to create safe home-charging ports,” informed Nugent.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Audley Shaw, shared that the government remains dedicated to the goal of transitioning 35 percent of the electricity sector to renewable energy generation by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2030. EVs will assist in achieving these targets.

“The government continues to explore avenues to improve the movement of goods and people in the most efficient and cost-effective ways. We must effect innovative solutions to bring energy consumption to an affordable level for every citizen,” Minister Shaw told the Expo.

The government has also reduced the importation duties on EVs from 30 to 10 percent and waived registration fees on vehicles that are three years old or less for the next five years. The electrification of the Jamaican transportation sector could potentially save up to US$284 million of Jamaica’s GDP

By 2030, Jamaica will have an estimated 73,000 public and private vehicles using electricity as fuel. According to Roberto Aiello, Principal Regional Energy Specialist at the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), “There is a very big traction in the world to move towards electric vehicles. In fact, many main manufacturers are already pledging to ban the manufacturing of internal combustion engines, the earliest one being 2030.”

ternal combustion engines, the earliest one being 2030.” From the onset, JPS has played an integral role in building the ecosystem for EV mobility by seeking to contribute to the national dialogue with the EV Council and the Office of Utilities Regulation to ready the electrification of transportation.

Ms Nugent, the Business Development Director for JPS says, “We know the electric mobility future is here, it’s been here for a while, and we are ready to go in this space.”