More than a week after the passage of Hurricane Dean, the National Water Commission (NWC) said the majority of its systems are now up and running, giving 93 per cent of its normal production capacity.

The NWC said the systems that have been restored are being operated using a combination of public power supply, standby generators or gravity operations. The pace of restoration for the NWC is way ahead of what was achieved following Hurricane Ivan, which hit the island on September 10, 2004.

JPS concerns

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd. (JPS) said it has received reports that some of its employees have been attacked in the parishes of St. Catherine and Kingston, while working to restore power supply.

The light and power company said, if this continues, it may be forced to withdraw its restoration crews from communities where they are being threatened or exposed to any form of danger.

JPS has also warned that there are some "unscrupulous" persons demanding money from residents for the restoration of electricity.

"JPS employees and contractors are not authorised to collect money from anyone to carry out restoration work," the company said.

The JPS is, therefore, asking members of the public to report to its offices the name and vehicle number of any person who tries to solicit money in order to restore power supply.

The light and power company yesterday reported that just over 85 per cent of its customers now have their power supply restored.

The JPS said it was anticipating full restoration for the rest of the island by September 9.