Jamaica’s Renewable Energy Crossroads: Transitional Challenges and Recommendations.

Jamaica’s renewable energy drive towards higher penetration rates into the national electrical grid has made significant progress since the early 2000s. However, the nation has continued to exhibit a societal tendency toward electricity theft (non-technical losses). Updated statistics from the national electricity grid provider the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) speaks of non-technical losses of around 20%. Research into high-profile communities exhibiting electrical theft was conducted to assess the correlation between electrical theft and alternative lighting technologies, knowledge of energy use and the cost of lighting technologies. Therefore, this chapter explores the major challenges of non-technical losses toward the electrical grid and presents potential recommendations for alternative lighting technologies to aid in the excessive energy demand of 200,000 plus illegally connected households.