NWC St. Thomas Customers Urged to Take Advantage of Amnesty

National Water Commission (NWC) customers in St. Thomas with outstanding balances are being urged to take advantage of the entity’s amnesty before its ends.

Customer Relations Manager for NWC St. Thomas, Calvert Harrison, made the appeal during an interview with JIS News at a recent public engagement activity in Morant Bay.

He noted that the take-up of the amnesty in the parish has been disappointing.

He said that from a customer base of 20,000 in the parish, there are 9,000 inactive accounts and since the amnesty began on January 2, just over 1,000 of those inactive account holders have come forward.

He noted that many of those persons who have shown interest have made enquiries and not requests for reconnection.

Mr. Harrison said that the amnesty is an opportunity for customers to be “in good stead” with the agency and not face disconnection.

“It is best to take up the amnesty so that you… would have settled the balance or the debt that you have with the NWC,” he said.

“We are finding that many of the inactive customers are using water illegally and we will have to remove them totally from the main so they will be out of water,” Mr. Harrison said.

“So, it is best to take up the amnesty because it is a chance to write off what you owe and start afresh,” he added.

Mr. Harrison said there have been several outdoor interactions where customers can register or apply for the amnesty, as well as town criers and television and radio advertisements.

“We are making sure that they (customers) are hearing,” he noted.

Under the amnesty, persons disconnected for over six months can benefit from a 50 per cent write-off with their reconnection fee waived.

Payment plans are also available for the customer to come up with their half of the outstanding balance.

Beneficiaries of the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and government pensioners can benefit from up to a 100 per cent write-off on balances that are owed for two years or more.

For arrears under 24 months, a payment plan can be arranged. Persons who were not disconnected but have an overdue balance can also benefit.

More than 21,000 NWC customers across the island have benefited from the amnesty programme up to March 14.

The amnesty was initially scheduled to end on March 31; however, Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon.

Andrew Holness, in his contribution to the 2025/26 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 20, said he has instructed the NWC to extend the programme for a further two months.

Persons can contact the NWC at TOLL-FREE (888)-225-5692 or visit their website at www.nwcjamaica.com for more information.