Petrojam Considers Diversifying Energy Mix

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce GK Capital Management business and consumer confidence second quarter indices 2026  was held under the theme Fuelling Confidence: How Energy Costs Shape Business and Household Behaviour.

 

Serial entrepreneur Mitri Seaga, the first president of the JMEA, who also had a three-year tenure as PSOJ president, made the following admission as business confidence continued its decline.

 

 

 

 

 

Seaga said, “As business people, we have got to look at the bigger picture. Yes, there are some costs that are high in Jamaica, but there are also some costs that we have had that have been traditionally low – salaries, for example, depending on where you're comparing to. We have to change our perception of productivity. We have to change our mindset around productivity. Not just our workers but our management. Our management have to demand more, and our management has to do more. We have to train people better. We have to train people and let them understand what it means to be productive and who we are competing against.”

 

 However, it was Seaga's subsequent statements as the current chairman of Jamaica's only petroleum refinery, Petetrojam, that are certain to spark energetic debate and shed light on Jamaica's energy future. Starting with the complexities of Petetrojam's pricing mechanisms.

“So, what the government of Jamaica has been doing for many years is called a smoothing technique. It levels out the price of the cost of fuel to the consumer up or down over the year, and usually that account comes out at about level where prices go up and down, up and down but so that consumers don't feel it every week. We level out the price. We recognized when the war started that prices were going up in some instance up to $40 per litre and Petrojam was feeling significant impact from that cost.”

 

To date, he said, Petrojam has spent about $18 million US subsidizing the cost of fuel.

Having demystified that complexity, the Petetrojam chair spoke of steps that could be taken to provide additional solutions.

 

“Petrojam is doing everything that it can and the government by extension has to give us back that money because the money has to come from somewhere. So, the rationale for it is that if we were to move the prices where they should be moved to, it would be extremely inflationary and the government prime minister himself said listen inflation is very easy to go on and hard to come off and that's why we didn't want to do it.”

 

It's a call being echoed by consumers as well.

 

Chairman and CEO  at Market Research Services Limited Don Anderson, said, “People believe that you should lower electricity rates 56%. Is this realistic? 38% said more stable fuel prices, 28% said lower taxes on energy efficient appliances encourage us to be able to acquire more, 27% said easier financing on solar systems, so, people are obviously thinking in that direction. Expanded renewable energy programs, consumer education, people believe that there's a need for more education to alert them to make them more aware of what to do.”

 

The Petetrojam chairman provided additional fuel for thought to end users.

 

Seaga said, “No good reason for households that started out to be paying high electricity bills when solar systems are available and financing is available for them. The payback period has come down significantly and you know majority of the people that I know are telling me about their light bills being $12 and $15.”

 

He said the whole landscape is changing and people need to just stop doing what they've always done.

 

“My factory, for example, runs 50% on solar and I'm now looking at trying to put the other 50% on solar. We just need to move with the times, and the times are saying just regular old fossil fuels is not the way anymore.”

 

He suggests Jamaica may have finally reached a nexus for accelerating action.

 

“I get the feeling that the government recognizes that it's behind schedule and is going to look at some other sources now that we weren't looking at before. So, I will say that, because I can't say too much.”

 

But when pressed, he said, “We are going to look at integrating Petetrojam into all sources of fuel. uh we don't feel my board doesn't feel that you know we should be in to gas alone or heavy fuel oils alone. We feel that LNG is something we need to be looking at, solar we need to be looking at maybe even nuclear we need to be looking at. Whatever it is that is fuelling the country I think Petrojam should be in. So, I think that Pet Pro Petroj will take on a new look and that is going to require investment for sure and we're we are happy to look at the companies like GK to aid us in those in those expansions.”