More Than 3,000 Households Benefit from Community Electrification Programme

Since 2020, more than 3,000 households have benefited from the Government’s flagship Community Electrification Project, securing legal access to the nation’s energy grid and reducing damage to life and property.

The initiative, which is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), is spearheaded by the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport in partnership with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).

Addressing a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the programme is providing vulnerable Jamaicans with access to electricity.

“What we’re trying to do is to ensure that people have safe, reliable access to electricity, because most people who extract electricity illegally are doing it because they don’t have access,” Mr. Sweeney explained, noting that priority is being given to those most in need.

Under this project, beneficiaries are guaranteed a metre panel, two lights, two plugs, two switches, and a connection to the JPS grid, regardless of the size of their home.

This simple but critical intervention helps eliminate unsafe wiring practices and the associated fire hazards that can endanger life and property.

The Community Electrification Project is expected to continue, expanding across parishes with increased outreach efforts, ensuring that more Jamaicans are able to study, work, and live in homes with safe, legal electricity access.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service announced a $1billion expansion of the programme, with the aim of connecting 20,000 additional households islandwide.

“This is something we think will be a game changer. We already have more than 1,000 persons who have signed up in Portland, and we’ve signed up persons in Westmoreland, Trelawny, and Saint Mary,” Mr. Sweeney said.