JPS says access issues have left some areas without electricity after expiration of restoration deadline

The Jamaica Public Service Company says it has completed post-Beryl restoration of electricity to the majority of its customers, except for some in St Elizabeth and isolated areas of Westmoreland, Manchester and rural St Andrew.

The JPS had been given until August 12 to restore power to all customers, except for parts of St Elizabeth.

In a media release on Tuesday, the JPS claimed to have met this deadline. It said of the company's 692,000 customers, approximately 682,000 now have supply.

However, it said there were "a few isolated outages remaining, mainly in the parishes of Westmoreland, Manchester and rural St Andrew, due to access challenges, including landslides, blocked roads, damaged bridges and dangerous terrain, which have delayed the restoration process."

The JPS said it continues to work with local representatives and the National Works Agency to gain access to these areas.

"Having completed restoration of the rest of the island, JPS will now focus on expediting the full restoration of St Elizabeth.  The company will be redeploying teams and other resources to St Elizabeth to ensure that every customer is restored as safely and as quickly as possible," the JPS said.

In the meantime, the company noted that some customers in restored areas may still be experiencing outages due to unique circumstances, for example, where they were restored after Hurricane Beryl but have since lost supply, or where individual customers within communities are still without supply.

In these cases, JPS is asking the affected customers to make reports via the myJPS Mobile App or the Customer Care Centre at 888-225-5577 / 888-935-5577.

Customers are also urged to have a licensed electrician check their wiring, grounding, and potheads, to ensure that their property is ready to safely receive supply.

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