JPS says it met Dec 10 restoration targets for St Mary, Portland, Manchester, Clarendon and St Ann

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) says it has met its December 10 target of restoring electricity to 95 per cent of customers in St Mary and Portland by the first week of December, and to 75 per cent of customers across Manchester, Clarendon and St Ann.

The company's systems were severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa, which devasated the country in October.

JPS President and Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant announced the targets at a media briefing in Montego Bay on November 13, as he outlined the company's phased plan to rebuild transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Providing a progress update today, Grant confirmed that the company has not only met those targets but, in several instances, exceeded them.

“With more than 96 per cent of our customers in St Mary and Portland now with electricity, these parishes have joined Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and St Thomas as almost fully restored,” Grant said.

He noted that the small number of customers still without power in those areas is largely due to access challenges or issues unique to individual premises.

Grant also reported that JPS is ahead of schedule in Clarendon, Manchester and St Ann, with more than 80 per cent of customers now restored in those parishes.

He said the company has remained consistent in executing its restoration strategy, which prioritised critical facilities such as hospitals, water pumps, telecommunications sites, town centres and major economic zones to help restart economic activity as quickly as possible.

JPS also highlighted significant progress in the re-energisation of the tourism sector in western Jamaica, including the restoration of electricity to Montego Bay and the Elegant Corridor in St James, Norman Manley Boulevard and the West End in Negril, Falmouth town and pier in Trelawny, and the Ocho Rios cruise ship pier and Dunn’s River in St Ann.

JPS says approximately 83 per cent of its customers, more than 570,000 customers, have been restored, while over 120,000 customers, representing 18 per cent, remained without power.

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