Over 136,000 JPS system outages recorded last year
Published:Tuesday | March 26, 2024 | 2:35 PM
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) recorded more than 136,000 system outages last year, Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Ansord Hewitt, has disclosed.
He was speaking this morning at the OUR's Annual Director-General Stakeholders' Engagement held at the AC Marriott Hotel in St Andrew.
Hewitt noted that last year, there were 136,552 recorded system outage events, marking 26.8 per cent increase compared to 2022.
Among these events, 4,326 were categorised as "planned outages", while the majority totalling 132,226 were classified as forced outage events, causing unexpected interruptions in service to customers.
Additionally, the data showed an increase of 59.3 per cent in planned outages while forced outages increased by 26 per cent when compared to 2022.
"The OUR is of the view that the resolution of this matter will need to include both a mix of enforcement, social subsidy, and we have been speaking to the government about that...and economic incentives," he said.
"Part of the concern we have with outages is that there is also a disparity across the country, he noted.
Data from the OUR also showed that System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) metric experienced an increase of 11.8 interruptions per customer, marking a 57.3 per cent decline in performance compared to 2022.
Similarly, the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), which indicates the total duration of interruption for the average customer during a predefined period of time, rose to 2,403.3 minutes per customer, a 21.1 per cent increase over 2022.
The JPS in May last year indicated that it will be spending $US18.25 million or approximately J$2.83 billion on specific projects designed to improve the reliability of the electricity grid.
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