More Than 1,000 Households Identified in Portland for House-Wiring Programme

More than 1,000 households in Portland have been identified to benefit from the Government’s House Wiring and Inspection Programme, an initiative to support the obtainment of regularised prepaid electricity infrastructure.

In the 2025/26 Budget Debate, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, had announced the allocation of $1 billion to assist 20,000 new customers in joining the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Prepaid Electricity Programme.

This allocation is to cover payments for house wirings and inspections with the aim of formalising illegal connections and safely integrating those households into the JPS’s grid.

The programme is being spearheaded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

To enrol persons in the programme, JSIF has embarked on a series of Electrification Fairs, the first of which was held at the Carder Park in Port Antonio on April 24.

General Manager, Finance, Procurement and Standards, JSIF, Orville Hill, speaking with JIS News at the fair, noted that through the execution, JISF is “reaching out to community persons to receive from them their intention to be a part of the project where they would enrol and advise us that they would like to be on the programme”.

“Once that is done, then we would arrange for the execution of the programme and the timing as to when we go to the different communities in order to do the wiring and, ultimately, engage them on the JPS platform,” he added.

“We will go into communities, wire the homes, have the various approvals done and have them enrolled with JPS, so that they can be customers of JPS and so they will have their electricity on a legal basis,” he added.

The Electrification Fair also featured other government agencies that mounted displays and set up booths, giving persons access to a wide array of services. There was also a kiddies’ village, farmers’ market and food court as well as live performances.

Mr. Hill informed that the fairs will be held islandwide with the next one scheduled for May 9 in Clarendon, where the programme will be officially launched.

Project Manager for the JSIF Community Electrification Project, Dane McLean, also told JIS News that, “essentially, what this programme does is afford every Jamaican who doesn’t have access to any form of regularised electricity, the opportunity to become regularised”.

Mr. McLean explained that through the programme, a basic installation will be done with the provision of a starter system, which includes two lights and two plugs. Approval by the Government’s electrical regulator will also be sought.

“Importantly, we recognise that in most cases, a lot of householders did not get onboard the programme because they have a challenge going into the formal space to identify their need, and so what we have done is bring the project to the communities,” the Project Manager said, underscoring the rationale behind the Electrification Fairs.

He also pointed out that prepaid metering “is the most advanced, modern infrastructure to allow homeowners to pay for the power as they go”.

“It is an innovative approach that allows for better management, better use, better budgeting among households,” Mr. McLean said.