The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has undergone a new leadership change with the appointment of Hugh Grant as its president and CEO, effective August 1.

Grant, a Jamaican national, will be taking over from Damian Obiglio, JPS chairman and acting CEO. Obiglio assumed the position as acting chief executive following the resignation of Steve Berberich earlier in January this year. Berberich himself was new to the role, having been appointed in May 2023, but demitted office due to personal tragedy.

JPS, in a statement late Wednesday (July 17) noted that Grant boasts over 25 years of experience in the utility business, with extensive industry knowledge across the generation, transmission, and distribution sectors of the industry. He joins JPS from Consolidated Edison Company, the energy company that serves the 10 million people of New York and Westchester in the United States.

In his most recent position, Grant served as the vice president of steam operations at Con Edison. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and the P&L of the district steam business in Manhattan, a system that has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any energy system in New York City.

During his time at Con Edison, Grant served in a variety of positions, with increased responsibility and impact on the company. Prior to his most recent assignment, Grant was the vice president of substation operations and was responsible for more than 100 electric transmission and distribution substations throughout the service territory, serving a customer demand of over 13,000MW.

In making the announcement, Obiglio said Grant brings a solid combination of technical and leadership experience to the position.

“The new JPS CEO has extensive industry knowledge, and a strong commitment to customer service excellence. During this time of change and transformation in our industry, he is positioned to build upon the work that has already been done at JPS, to take the company into the future. His proven track record of developing and executing strategic plans as well as demonstrating an unwavering focus on safety, system reliability, customer satisfaction, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement to achieve results will serve JPS and our customers exceptionally well,” the JPS chairman said.

Grant holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Florida International University, a Master of Science degree in information systems from Pace University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia University.