Scores of households in St Elizabeth and Manchester wired for electricity

Scores of households across St Elizabeth and Manchester have been wired for connection to the national grid under the Government’s Community Electrification Project.

Being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) in partnership with Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), the project aims to regularise electricity access for communities, prioritising vulnerable populations.

It involves free house wiring and connection to the JPS grid for eligible households, ensuring safe and legal access to electricity.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, along with representatives from the JSIF and JPS, visited several communities in the parishes on Thursday, July 10 to observe the house wiring and pole extension activities.

The tour began in Prospect, Manchester, where works were completed on 70 houses at a cost of nearly $30 million.

The team then travelled to Comma Pen in St Elizabeth where an additional 20 homes received house wiring and pole extensions valued at $16 million, before proceeding to Santa Cruz and Bogue for other activities.

The installations were followed by the energising of the power lines that will bring legal electricity to the beneficiary households for the first time.

Vaz said that JPS and JSIF will return to the areas over the next two weeks to install smart meters and connect each household to the grid.

“All the services that are provided under this programme are delivered as a grant, a gift to the people,” he noted.

“Each participating household will receive support valued at $183,000, which includes full house wiring, and a $4000 credit on your smart metering technology through a prepaid solution for six months,” he informed.

He was speaking during a stop at the St. Elizabeth Electrification Fair in Independence Park, Black River, where persons were signing up to benefit under the Community Electrification Project.

Vaz said that the project reflects the Government’s commitment to social equity and national progress.

“We have committed a total of $1.35 billion to this programme with funding allocated through to March 2026, but just this past April, we took it a step further, adding another $1 billion to this programme making a total investment of $2.4 billion,” he pointed out.

“This is the most money ever allocated to a programme like this in the history of Jamaica,” he said.

So far, over 9,000 homes have been wired, with nearly 50 kilometres of new pole line infrastructure installed.

The Minister said that further expansion is under way with work set to begin on an additional 3,200 homes in July, including 400 in St Elizabeth.

Phase two will begin in October and will see 4,800 more homes wired across the island, including another 400 in St Elizabeth.

The Minister pointed out that for areas where pole line extensions are not feasible, solar systems will be provided to ensure that no community is left behind.

“The entire programme is being delivered free of cost to residents, removing the financial barriers to access,” he said.

Over 1,400 residents have registered for support through electrification fairs, Vaz informed, noting that there is a strong demand for legal electricity.

Resident of Comma Pen, Lorna Sinclair, expressed “heartfelt gratitude”, noting that the community had come a long way in its quest for legal electricity.

Fellow community member, Muriel Freeman, said she was thankful “to all those who have made the connections possible”.

- JIS News

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