Energy Minister Daryl Vaz convened a meeting with the directors and managers of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) over the weekend to review the ongoing recovery efforts following the recent impact of Hurricane Beryl on the national electricity infrastructure.

The meeting, held last Friday (July 26) in a hybrid format, was aimed at assessing the status of power restoration and discussing strategic plans to ensure full recovery of electricity services across the island.

This comes amidst heightened cries from people who are still without electricity some three weeks after the passage of the hurricane.

In its update on the recovery efforts to date, JPS executives indicated that approximately 25,567 of 692,489, customers across the island are still without electricity.

Additionally, several NWC pumps and National Irrigation Commission pumps used for farming irrigation are also still without electricity. While 475 of 685 Flow Jamaica cell sites and 81 of 96 Digicel Jamaica cell sites have been restored.

JPS further outlined the following restoration schedule:

It is important to note that these estimates presumably do not take into account fallout from the squall line that exacerbated restoration efforts island-wide.

• READ MORE: Squall line impacts JPS network, over 10,000 customers affected

Challenges and solutions: The discussion highlighted several challenges being faced that are delaying the recovery process, including damaged transmission lines and pole access difficulties in severely affected areas.

Public communication: The Minister and JPS representatives also discussed the importance of clear and timely communication with the public. JPS will continue to provide regular updates through various channels, including their website, social media platforms, and community bulletins, to keep the public informed about restoration progress and any potential disruptions.

Minister Vaz reiterated the importance of engaging additional contractors to assist with the restoration efforts. “I have called on the JPS to increase their rates to contractors and incentivize them to get the work done quickly,” he said, adding, “The rates can be heightened by JPS and claimed back from the Emergency Disaster Fund – extraordinary times need extraordinary responses.”

The minister further stated, “Not only do we need to ensure that our citizens are taken out of the darkness, but the NWC and NIC pumps need to be brought back online as well. Currently, the telcos are depending on their standby services which is uneconomical as they await JPS to come online.”