More than 99 per cent of JPS customers back on the grid, says Vaz

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A total of 1,343 customers from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) remain without electricity since they lost power when Hurricane Melissa hit the island on October 28 last year. Energy Minister Daryl Vaz told the Parliament on Tuesday that the restoration work is now 99.81 per cent complete. He was making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate. The parish breakdown shows that 1,283 customers in Westmoreland and 60 in St Elizabeth are still without power. Vaz said approximately 40 per cent (538) are not ready to receive power safely due to property-related damage. Vaz said remaining work is being impacted by difficult terrain, limited access to remote areas, adverse weather, and challenging ground conditions, which continue to slow progress. He said the final phase of restoration will proceed at a measured pace, with smaller daily gains. He also declared that JPS’ post-Melissa performance is best-in-class. “When you benchmark with other utilities, the data shows clearly that JPS’ performance is nearly twice as good as its peers in other developing countries and almost on par with best-in-class utilities in developed countries with far more resources,” he said. Vaz compared Jamaica to Puerto Rico which was impacted by Category 4 Hurricane Maria in 2017. He noted that Puerto Rico is a little smaller than Jamaica, but has a gross domestic product that is seven times that of Jamaica’s, and the support of the United States. “Here in Jamaica, two months after we got a direct hit by the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, 90 per cent of JPS’ customers had electricity. In Puerto Rico, two months after being hit by Hurricane Maria, 40 per cent of their customers had electricity”. Vaz also pointed out that it took Puerto Rico almost a full year to get electricity back to 99 per cent of customers after Hurricane Maria. “JPS accomplished 99 per cent in four months. At the four-month mark, Puerto Rico was at 57 per cent,” he said.