JPS State-of-the-Art Centre of Excellence hosts Dutch Electricity Company in Best Practice Session

(Kingston – February 24, 2025)   JPS recently shared its best practices with WEB Bonaire, the energy company supplying the Dutch municipality of Bonaire.  The knowledge sharing session took place at the JPS state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence located in Kingston. The two-day visit, which culminated with a tour of the facility, featured presentations and discussions on Grid Modernization, Performance and Management Systems, Engineering & GIS functions, System Control, Operations Planning, Human Resources Development and Digital Services & IT Management.

Lincoy Small, Director of System Operations at JPS, expressed delight at the interest shown by utilities in the region to learn best practices from JPS professionals. “We are pleased that our way of working at JPS continues to be beneficial to electric utilities in the Caribbean. It is a testament to the quality of our processes and systems, and an indication that the investment we are making to ensure the highest quality grid standards is yielding fruit,” he shared.

The visit, which marks a new dimension in the Bonaire-Jamaica energy relationship, comes as the Dutch-island embarks on plans to improve its energy delivery system & application. Manager for Business Unit Electricity at WEB Bonaire, Robert Emerenciana, explained the reason for the visit:

“WEB Bonaire is in the midst of a transition towards grid modernisation, and we are here to learn from our regional peer who has already walked this path.” He further highlighted that the lessons learnt by the local energy distributor will serve the team well when they return home.

Both islands, members of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), represent two distinct energy experiences as noted by Manager of Information and Operational Technology at WEB Bonaire, Adrian Goeloe. “A key difference between Bonaire and Jamaica is that our utility serves approximately 13,000 customers whereas JPS serves almost 700,000. The demand is significantly greater in Jamaica, making operations more complex. The level at which they are operating is top-notch in the region and has certainly left us inspired,” Goeloe noted.

With plans from both utilities to include more sustainable resources as part of their fleet, there are plans for the knowledge exchange to continue. 

In providing the vote of thanks, Emerenciana expressed gratitude on behalf of the team:

“Thanks to JPS for organising and accommodating us in such a short timeframe. We are walking away with invaluable lessons.”

The four-member team was rounded out by Raymi De Jongh, WEB Bonaire Grid Administrator and Jan van Dinther, Smart Grid Consultant.