Residents of Piece View in St. James to Get Improved Access to Electricity

Residents of Piece View in St. James North Western can look forward to significant improvement in their electrical infrastructure under the Rural Electrification Programme (REP).

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says the project, estimated to cost in excess of $20 million, is expected to benefit some 100 households.

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

The scope of works includes the installation of 22 poles, more than 550 meters of electrical conductors, and two 50 Kilovolt-amps (Kva) transformers.

Minister Vaz made the announcement during a tour of underserved communities in St James on Friday (November 10) to identify areas requiring urgent attention under the REP.

He was joined by State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, and representatives of JSIF and the Jamaica Public Service (JPS).

Mr. Vaz noted that many houses within the community were not wired, posing a safety hazard when residents rely on alternative methods to gain access to electricity.

He emphasised the Government’s commitment to regularise these houses and ensure their wiring is brought up to code.

“Many houses here are wired, while others are not. It is our goal to ensure that all households are connected to the grid and have their wiring certified,” the Minister stated.

Mr. Vaz said the contract for the project is ready to be signed, with an ambitious 90-day turnaround time.

He emphasised that the programme has been revised to include the wiring and certification of houses, at a cost of approximately $110,000 per house.

“JPS will come after and sign up everybody. The most important thing is that the programme has been amended to include wiring for houses that have not been wired, which has been a very serious problem because of affordability. So it threatened the project and the whole REP programme,” Mr. Vaz said.

For his part, JSIF Managing Director, Omar Sweeney, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, noting that the agency completed the assessment, design, costing, and procurement phases and that the contractors are ready to commence the work.

“This community is included in our current programme of work for this year. So we are actually on the ground today (November 10) to commence the contract of works,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Member of Parliament for the constituency, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, hailed the project which he said will raise the community’s ecosystem and standard “to make it a better quality of life for the residents.”

He indicated that streetlights will also be erected to provide a better layer of safety across the community.

The REP aims to extend electricity to rural Jamaica as part of the Government’s commitment to provide the entire island with access to this amenity, thereby stimulating economic and social activities and providing a better quality of life in beneficiary communities.