Tag: Utility Regulation and Competition Office
OfReg ordered to reveal names in gas station tests
(CNS) UPDATED FRIDAY 4:40pm: Efforts by OfReg to protect retail petrol stations that are found selling poor quality fuel have been thwarted by the ombudsman in a major breakthrough for consumers. A freedom of information request had been made for the names of stations selling deficient gas, which were exposed during the regulator’s periodic inspection. […]
OfReg blames COVID for dragging heels on fuel spill
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) claims it is taking “appropriate actions regarding a tank leak” at the Rubis Terminal in late 2019. Following a report on CNS last week about a review of the spill, which blamed the fuel supplier for not dealing with a corroded tank, the regulator said it had […]
Rusted Rubis tank leaked over 3,686 gallons of diesel
(CNS): A rusty storage tank at Jackson Point suffered a “bottom plate failure resulting from severe rust and degradation due to corrosion”, which was preventable, according to an independent investigation report into a spill at the Rubis terminal in South Sound in November 2019. The report, which has been acquired by CNS, shows that the […]
Miller confirms facts in PAC’s OfReg report
(CNS): Following the false evidence given by OfReg Board Chairman Linford Pierson to the Public Accounts Committee, Ezzard Miller MP, the chairman of the committee, has called on government to remove him. But he also made it clear to parliament on Thursday that the controversial report, which Speaker McKeeva Bush had tried to stop becoming […]
OfReg proposes new CORE rate for green power
(CNS): OfReg has proposed that CUC customers who are part of the power company’s green energy programme will receive just over 13 cents per kWh for the newly transferred allocation of 1-megawatt of capacity. This tranche of potential power provision is being moved from the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) programme to the Customer-Owned Renewable Energy […]
OfReg creates independent internet speed test
(CNS): While there are already dozens of free tools online that allow users to measure their real time upload and download internet speeds, OfReg has created one of its own, allowing it to independently monitor local providers. The creation of the tool cost just over $2,100, officials said, giving the regulator “a transparent and independent […]
PAC strikes record of Pierson’s claims
(CNS) UPDATED WITH VIDEO: The Public Accounts Committee has struck from its records allegations made by the chairperson of the OfReg board about the auditor general’s report on the regulator, which were made during the hearings last week. Claims made by Linford Pierson that the audit was inaccurate in several areas were refuted on Thursday […]
OfReg exec jobs advertised day after PAC
(CNS): The timing of advertisements placed in the local print media for the executive director positions for both the ICT and electricity sectors at OfReg were “purely coincidental”, said the CEO Malike Cummings, and “not in any way tied to the incumbents’ testimonies during the current Public Accounts Committee”. The senior jobs held by Alee […]
OfReg set back ICT progress, says director
(CNS): The executive director responsible for the regulation of the telecommunications sector under the umbrella utilities regulator, OfReg, has said the creation of this entity had not only failed to meet public expectations but had also undermined the progress of ICT regulation and development. Alee Fa’amoe told the Public Accounts Committee that the creation of […]
Chairperson deflects blame for OfReg failings
(CNS): Dr Linford Pierson, who chairs the board of the beleaguered utilities regulator, OfReg, arrived at Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday ready for a fight. The former Cabinet minister blamed everything and everyone, from Cabinet to the staff, for the multitude of failings surrounding the authority identified in a report by the auditor general. Pierson […]
‘We’ve been ripped off’ on gas prices
(CNS): The price of gas at the retail fuel pumps riled up several members of the Legislative Assembly on Monday, as they pressed the premier over what OfReg was doing to address the problem, given the dramatic fall in global oil prices this year. Chris Saunders (BTW) said, “We’ve been ripped off,” and everyone had […]