OUR chief urges Caribbean regulators to deliver measurable public benefits

The Director General of Jamaica’s Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), who also chairs the Organization of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OCUR), has urged regional utility regulators to spend less energy on procedures and more on results that clearly improve people’s lives.

Mr. Huitt issued the appeal on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, on the third day of the 20th OCUR conference. He was speaking during a regulatory roundtable held under the theme of regulatory innovation and change in a rapidly shifting utility landscape.

He told participants that regulators must examine how their work is done, and cautioned against leaning too heavily on familiar methods when outcomes suffer. “A great part of the perceived difficulty is that over time we have succumbed to the temptation to value practices above principles, emphasize inputs over outputs, promote methodologies over results, and to stick to the tried and tested when all evidence suggests that the tide has shifted,” he said. “So, I’d like to remind us that in the final analysis, regulation is only beneficial if it makes society better off.”

Mr. Huitt said big data and artificial intelligence could speed up research, sharpen decisions, and help deliver regulatory results more efficiently. He also highlighted social media and regulatory analytics as ways to broaden public consultation and judge how well interventions work.

The roundtable drew contributions from senior regulatory figures across the region and was moderated by former OCUR executive director Glenn Khn. The conference took place at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny.