JPS Restores Electricity to 20 Per Cent of Customers

The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has restored electricity supply to 20 per cent or approximately 135,000 of its 560,000 customers.
These customers are primarily in the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, St. James, Trelawny, Hanover, Westmoreland and St. Ann.
Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, in a broadcast to the nation on (Aug. 22) on the country’s recovery efforts after the passage of Hurricane Dean, said the restoration process has been much slower in the parishes of
St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, St. Thomas and Portland, as a result of extensive damage to the power system in those areas.
Turning to water supply, the Prime Minister said that the utility has been restored to nearly all the coastal areas from Savanna-la-Mar, Negril, Montego Bay, Falmouth, Ocho Rios, through to Port Maria.
“Nearly all the largest water supply systems are now back in operation using available standby generators and through power supplied by the JPS. Approximately 50 per cent of production capacity is now back in operation,” she said.
The National Water Commission (NWC), along with the Rapid Response Unit and private contractors, has been trucking water to affected areas with priority placed on hospitals, health facilities, other public facilities and shelters.
Mrs. Simpson Miller further noted that National Works Agency (NWA) has cleared 322 of the 379 roads that were affected by Hurricane Dean. She noted that while the agency is still experiencing problems in northern areas, work is progressing at a rapid and sustained pace.
In the meantime, the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has cleared all the major roads islandwide, including those in major tourist areas.
“Work is proceeding in the corporate area on a street-by-street basis. They are currently working in areas such as Maxfield Avenue, Waltham Park Road, Spanish Town Road, Molynes Road, among other areas,” she said.
The Prime Minister also noted that clean-up operations are underway in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, Portland, and St. Elizabeth.
“However, the NSWMA has a need for more trucks. I am therefore, appealing to persons with trucks to help us in this major effort to clean up our streets,” she said.