JPS completes power restoration in St. Elizabeth communities

By Racquel Porter/Lorraine Mendez     

 

The Jamaica Public Service Company says it has completed restoration of service to communities in St. Elizabeth, just ahead of its August 31 deadline.

 

The company's distribution infrastructure in the parish was severely damaged during Hurricane Beryl, leaving residents without power for as long as eight weeks.

 

JPS President & Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant announced the completion of restoration work on Thursday afternoon at a back-to-school fair organised by the company in Ginger Hill. 

 

"Sections of the network [have] been completely rebuilt and this rebuilding will continue in the ensuing weeks, and that will be done on a planned basis. I want to be clear, some customers may still have issues on their properties which is preventing them from receiving supply, but their communities are back. So we are working with those customers to have those issues resolved, so we can get them the power because the power is in the communties," he announced. 

 

He also admitted that "a few others" may still be without power due to access issues, but said JPS is working with the relevant authorities to have that resolved. 

 

The light and power company has come under fire for the length of time it has been taking to restore electricity to customers. Electricity was restored to the majority of customers by August 15, more than a month after the hurricane. 

 

In the meantime, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has called for JPS to ensure service is also restored to isolated areas in the coming days.

 

Mr. Vaz, while commending JPS for rebuilding its network ahead of the August 31 timeline, said it has been a painful eight-week long wait for full restoration.

 

He told Radio Jamaica News that the focus is now on ensuring critical infrastructure, such as schools, National Water Commission pumps and National Irrigation Commission wells have power to facilitate normal operations.