JPS on track to reconnecting thousands more customers by end of February, says Vaz

 

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is on track to reconnect thousands of customers in the hardest hit parishes in western Jamaica to the grid by the end of February. 

 

Mr. Vaz revealed in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon that roughly 51,000 customers remain without power supply, of which some 30,000 have the resources to receive electricity. 

 

In Westmoreland, where the hurricane made landfall, there are 34,603 JPS customers, of which 49% are without electricity. 

 

Despite concerns from the opposition regarding the February restoration timeline, Mr. Vaz said targeting the Roaring River National Water Commission (NWC) station will significantly boost restoration figures. 

 

"I witnessed 324 poles and 15 miles to get light to the Roaring River NWC station. That in itself is going to bring back approximately 50,000 customers in Westmoreland. So when I say that we're going to get 96% by the end of January, if you really look at it and take out the 21,000 that are not ready for electricity, we would be at almost full restoration in the timeline that the government gave when we loaned the money. We are on track and we are going to be in a position to reach their even quicker, because if you recall, we had originally said January to end of February, but based on the work that has been done so far, we will use the month of February to try and get those 21,000 customers back up," he pointed out.

 

He said a projected timeline will be provided when the 51,000 customers will receive electricity. 

 

Some 60 per cent of customers in St. Elizabeth are reported to have received power; while in Hanover, 17 per cent are without power; St. James, 13 per cent; and Trelawny, 12 per cent remain off the grid.

 

Meanwhile, Minister Vaz said the final phase of restoration will focus on redesigning and rebuilding infrastructure to better withstand weather events.

 

"Long-term system resilience is being strengthened, including the use of Polecrete to improve resistance to pole uprooting; fiberglass components and transmission lines designed to withstand Category 5 conditions and network redesigns to reduce cascading and domino-style failures. Restoration continues in Hanover, Westmoreland, St. James, Trelawny and St. Elizabeth, where the work is focused on the most complex last-mile challenges. In the western region, what remains is not simply restoration. It is a redesign and rebuild. The final phase requires infrastructure redesign and full rebuilds," he noted. 

 

In the meantime, Shadow Minister on Energy Phillip Paulwell questioned whether the US$150 million loan to JPS is enough to ensure full restoration. 

 

The company had indicated that it needed US$350 million to restore power to western Jamaica following the destruction of its infrastructure. 

 

"The information that I have received, and we take no glee in this, is that we are not going to be able to get a 100% restoration before April, based on what is necessary to carry out the so-called 'last-mile restoration'," he said, calling for Mr. Vaz to explain the full cost for the restoration. 

 

"I don't think a minister can come here and give that amount of money and not reflect on that, not come back to say to us, it was a bad estimate and that it was in fact US$150 million. It requires an explanation," he suggested.