Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has sought international assistance to aid in its power restoration efforts in sections of the island still without electricity.

Addressing in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 16), Holness said line workers from neighbouring countries such as Belize and the Cayman Islands will help JPS assist the outage pockets across the island.

“The JPS has reported that it has supplemented its resource pool with former employees as well as engaging local contractors from the bauxite industry assigned to Hanover and St Elizabeth. In addition, the company is currently engaging CARILEC, that is, the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation, to provide support resources in the coming days,” the prime minister added.

He said power has been restored to 655,000 JPS of 692,000 customers, which represents 94.6 per cent of customers.

“What this figure is saying is that the customer base, meaning those persons who have an account with the JPS, has returned it. It might be a surprise to many, Madam Speaker, when you start to look at the magnitude with St Elizabeth itself accounts for approximately 5 per cent of the customer base. That is the challenge, Madam Speaker. The customer base is highly concentrated in Kingston and St Andrew, Spanish Town, Portmore, St James, and that is because of the urban nature of electricity usage. This is not to say that there are not significant areas that are without electricity, and I want that to be reconciled in the presentation,” Holness told parliamentarians.

Holness also noted that power has been restored to all major hospitals, while restoration to critical sites of the National Water Commission (NWC) is at 81 per cent.

Meanwhile, he said power has been restored to 49 per cent of customers in St Elizabeth, including the communities of Black River, Goshen, Alligator Pond, Siloah, Lacovia, and other areas. The prime minister said the JPS has indicated that they are targeting the week of August 10 for full restoration in these areas.

Meanwhile, Holness said the target for full restoration to areas in Manchester and Clarendon is set for the end of July.

“We are aware of reports of unscrupulous individuals pretending to be JPS workers and requesting the communities pay money for their power to be restored. This is totally unacceptable. We want to remind our citizens that this is unsafe, illegal, and unethical and poses a threat to lives, property, and indeed to the legitimate JPS crews that are working to restore electricity,” Holness said.

Following recent demonstrations by some residents still without electricity, Holness urged patience among residents while noting that demonstrations could potentially delay restoration efforts by JPS workers.