The Jamaica Public Service has informed that its teams are now in the process of conducting damage assessment and power restoration, following the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

According to the utility company the tropical cyclone “wreaked havoc on the island’s electricity network over the past 24 hours”, resulting in damage to the electrical infrastructure and approximately 65 per cent of its customers left without electricity.

JPS Director of Corporate Communications Winsome Callum said that while the company will start restoring customers as quickly as possible, it was too soon to say how long it will take to get power back to everyone.

“The information from the damage assessment will guide the restoration strategy. We will know precisely which areas are most badly affected, where needs the least repairs, and also get a sense of how long it will take to complete the restoration work,” she explained.

 “We managed to keep the lights on for some of our customers through the hurricane,” she added.

The director shared that JPS has been leveraging its smart grid capabilities to facilitate restoration where there is an opportunity to do so remotely and safely.  

“We understand that everyone is anxious to have electricity restored as soon as the hurricane passes. However, there is a process that must be followed to ensure the safety of our team members, our customers and the grid itself,” Callum said.  

The restoration process, she outlined, involves a few steps.

First, the teams must check for damage and do repairs to power plants and main transmission lines. Thereafter JPS will restore power to essential service providers such as hospitals, airports, communication systems and water supply facilities. 

Following that, the teams will fix large power lines serving the largest number of customers, the turn focus to the smaller power lines serving smaller groups of customers.

The company pointed out, however, that restoration efforts in some areas could be delayed by roadblocks and landslides. As such, JPS is urging customers with generators and solar panels to ensure that their electricity is not flowing back into the grid, as this could pose serious danger to powerline workers and members of the public.

JPS will continue to provide restoration updates throughout the day. In the meantime, customers can get updates on the company’s restoration activities and make reports via the MyJPS Mobile App, social media channels @myjpsonline, and its WhatsApp channel.