The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) says it’s now on the verge of completing the restoration of power to customers in St Elizabeth, as the August 31 deadline approaches.  

At the same time, the JPS is asking customers to ensure that their premises are fit and ready to receive electricity.

“That is, they should have their pothead and meter stand or stanchion in proper condition to receive connection from the power utility,” JPS says in a release on Sunday, August 25. 

“The company, as part of its verification exercise, is also asking customers in St Elizabeth, who are in an area where power has been restored and they are still without power from the passage of Hurricane Beryl, to contact them immediately,” it adds.

JPS says is taking this approach as an added layer of confirmation to ensure that no customer is inadvertently omitted.

The JPS has been under public pressure to restore power to its customers, who have been without electricity since the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3.  

The public backlash from the delay in restoring power was further compounded by customers complaining about high electricity bills for the July to August billing period, which prompted the intervention of the Energy Ministry and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

The OUR said on Saturday that it has instructed the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) to reduce some customers’ bills in the next billing period and re-issue those bills issued in August with zero consumption that do not show a corresponding zero money value.

But the restoration of power has been most pressing for the JPS which is working with an August 31 deadline. It had missed previous deadlines and cited the scale of damage to its infrastructure in St Elizabeth by Hurricane Beryl.

In its release on Sunday, the JPS says it has been working to rebuild sections of the St Elizabeth network and has moved manpower from across the island to escalate the rate of repairs in the parish. 

“Following full restoration of customers, JPS will continue works in the parish to redesign, upgrade and rebuild sections of the distribution network,” it says.

Customers who are out of power may make a report by calling the Customer Care Centre at 888CALLJPS  or 888-225-5577 (FLOW) or 888-935-5577 (Digicel); or on the JPS Social Media platforms @myjpsonline; or on the MyJPS Mobile App.