Finishes 3 days before August 31 deadline
(St Elizabeth: Thursday, August 29, 2024) JPS has now completed the restoration of electricity to customers who had lost supply as a result of the Category Four Hurricane Beryl, which impacted the island on July 3.
The announcement was made today, Thursday, August 29, by JPS President & CEO, Hugh Grant, who was speaking at a Back-to-School event in Ginger Hill, St Elizabeth. “We know how difficult it has been for our customers in St Elizabeth who have been without power for an extended period,” Grant said. “That’s why we brought in all the resources available and our teams have been working around the clock these past few weeks. And today, we can say that we have successfully gotten supply back to our customers – three days ahead of the August 31 milestone that we had set,” he said, “and right in time for Back to School. This is so important for our people.”
St Elizabeth was the parish most badly affected by the Category Four hurricane, which wreaked havoc on the JPS power delivery infrastructure – causing extensive damage and, in some areas, complete destruction. “While we focused on getting supply back to our customers in St Elizabeth as quickly as possible, we had to start a process of rebuilding. Sections of the network have to be completely rebuilt, and lines have to be relocated because of extremely difficult terrain. This rebuilding process will continue for a while, as we work to make the network even more resilient,” Grant explained.
The JPS CEO said that although all the power distribution lines in the parish had been energized, there may be a few isolated cases of customers being without supply because of damage to their premises or access challenges (such as the Holland Farm NIC Pump). “We are urging anyone who is still without supply to contact us, and we will have a team check on your situation as quickly as possible,” he promised.
Member of Parliament for North Western St. Elizabeth, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, who was also in attendance at the event, noted that he was no longer getting reports of persons claiming to be out of supply, for which he was thankful to JPS.
While Mayor of Black River, His Worship Richard Solomon, had words of high commendation for the new JPS President, who is in his fourth week on the job. “Since the new President & CEO, Hugh Grant,” he told the audience, “we have felt his leadership and we have felt his commitment.” He also praised the residents of St. Elizabeth for their great resilience after being the worst affected parish in the island, due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
JPS also thanks its stakeholders: Members of Parliament and the Mayor for their strong partnership and support, as well as the OUR and Director General, Ansord Hewitt. The Company also thanks Minister Vaz for his support and care for customers, which also aligns with the utility’s own perspectives and care for the entire customer base.
The Company also extends a special thank you to the people of Jamaica for their patience during these challenging times and remains committed to excellent service with the customer at the centre of all that we do.
