Tag: Peter Gough
OfReg inching toward long-awaited fuel price transparency
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) is in the process of drafting changes to the law to allow it to publish fuel prices as they land, OfReg interim CEO Peter Gough told Finance Committee on Wednesday. The regulator is also beginning an exercise, starting on Cayman Brac, to provide regulatory accounts that show […]
OfReg finally makes telecoms warn of outages
(CNS): More than six years after the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) was established and over three since the auditor general raised the alarm about its numerous failings, officials have confirmed new rules that require licensed telecommunications companies to notify customers of planned outages. They must also now submit detailed reports on why communications […]
UK regulator’s crisis expert reviewing OfReg
(CNS): Aidan Stringfellow, head of Crisis Response and Policy and International Affairs at Ofgem, the UK utility regulator for gas and electricity, visited the Cayman Islands last week to offer support to the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg). The visit follows news that the planning and infrastructure ministry has taken over responsibility for OfReg […]
Ebanks quits OfReg council, refusing to be ‘seat warmer’
(CNS): Just a few months after George Ebanks was appointed as chair of the Consumer Council, created to advise the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) and feed in consumer concerns, the local businessman has resigned, saying he refuses to be a seat warmer and describing the council as a “cheap employee” of the regulator. […]
Consumer Council chair commits to representing people
(CNS): George Ebanks, the chair of the newly established Consumer Council, has told CNS that he is committed to consulting with the public and ensuring their concerns are conveyed to the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg), which created this new body to protect the rights of consumers. Ebanks said he would not allow the […]
OfReg invites Caymanians to join Consumer Council
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) is creating a Consumer Council to advise it on issues involving utilities that significantly affect consumers and is looking for suitably qualified Caymanians interested in serving on this new body. It will be made up of six members, one from each of the districts across all three […]
Rubis fined $225k for 2019 terminal oil spill
(CNS): Almost three years after 3,700 gallons of oil leaked at Rubis’ Jackson Point Terminal due to a rusty tank, the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has fined the supplier $225,000 following a successful prosecution. The discovery of the leak was not reported to the public for six months, and the report on the […]
OfReg finds consultants for solar market review
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has awarded a CI$78,000 contract to consultants to conduct a ‘Value Of Solar Study’ to help the country move towards its renewable energy goals. OfReg is responsible for regulating the emerging solar sector and this is a small step in the long process towards that aim. In […]
OfReg says local pump prices ‘average’ for region
(CNS): As gas prices hit record highs at local fuel pumps, the utilities regulator has released a recent price comparison survey carried out across the Caribbean and the UK. “This shows that fuel prices in the Cayman Islands are in the median average range within the countries of similar size compared and much lower in […]
OfReg finds no support for poor fuel quality allegation
(CNS): Allegations posted on social media accusing a local gas station of diluting fuel were immediately investigated by the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg), which found them to be unfounded. Although no formal complaints were made to the gas station in question, BarCam Esso, or to OfReg, in response to the anonymous complaint, which […]
Water Authority asked to justify rate increase
(CNS): The utilities regulator, OfReg, has deferred an application by the Water Authority for a rate increase asking the government-owned company’s management for more information to justify the increase. During last week’s OfReg board meeting the directors reviewed the request for a hike in prices but found that the 2020 year’s financial statements supporting the […]
