More than 13,000 JPS customers still without power
Published:Saturday | August 10, 2024 | 1:12 PM
Jamaica Public Service (JPS) says most of its 13,712 customers who remain without electricity since the passage of Hurricane Beryl a month ago, are in St Elizabeth.
The figure is down from roughly 16,000 two days ago, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The update comes as JPS pushes to meet the August 12 deadline to restore power in all parishes except for St Elizabeth.
JPS says it has almost 38,000 customers in St Elizabeth and power has been restored to 26,000 so far. Full restoration is expected by August 31.
“St Elizabeth will require sections of the network to do a rebuild – not just a restoration,” said Hugh Grant, JPS president and chief executive officer.
Meanwhile, JPS says most parishes are nearly completed, except for Manchester, which has little over 1,000 customers awaiting supply.
It says there are some instances where customers are out of power due to access issues. It pointed to the community of Firehole in Hanover where 30 customers are unrestored due to a landslide.
The utility company says in Westphalia in rural St Andrew, says more than a dozen customers are out as JPS utility vehicles cannot access the location.
JPS says its total customer base islandwide is 692,000, of which 98 per cent are with power.
Government and residents have expressed frustrations at the delays in the full restoration of power since the hurricane skirted along Jamaica's south coast on July 3. Many coastal communities were left devastated.
Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.