The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has said that the damage by Hurricane Beryl in St Elizabeth was so severe that it has to be rebuilding its infrastructure in the parish.

“This is a rebuilding process, not a restoration,” JPS President and CEO Hugh Grant stressed. “Based on the extent of the devastation, the electrical infrastructure that supplies sections of St Elizabeth needs to be completely rebuilt. In some areas, the network will need to be redesigned and lines relocated. The rebuilding process will be challenging and tedious, because of the difficult rocky terrain in which we are working.”

Communities in St Elizabeth will have to endure without electricity for several days more, as the JPS has announced that the projected timetable for total power restoration in the parish is being pushed back to August 31.

“…I give my assurance that JPS will be doing everything we can to expedite restoration. We have acquired additional equipment, and forged new partnerships with local and overseas contractors and suppliers. We will be redeploying resources from across the other parishes to focus exclusively on St Elizabeth over the next few weeks. And today, a team of linemen is coming in from the Manitoba Hydro Electric Utility in Canada, to join our CARILEC colleagues who are already providing support for our local teams,” he said.

When Hurricane Beryl passed by Jamaica on July 3, St Elizabeth was arguably the worst-hit area. The other southwestern parishes of Manchester, Westmoreland, and Clarendon also suffered extensive damage from the category 4 storm.

In Beryl’s immediate aftermath, much of the parish’s critical infrastructure and services were no longer operational, with the Black River Hospital lacking electricity, and several of the pumps providing water to settlements in the area being inoperative. In the following days and weeks, these bare necessities were back online, thanks to a rapid JPS response, alongside government and even foreign aid.

However, much of the civilian and residential homes and buildings in the parish remained without electricity, and as time went on, major discontent began to fester, partly over the seeming lack of progress, and the JPS policy of estimated billing.

In late July, the JPS initially declared that repair work may be complete in time for the upcoming ‘Emancipendence’ celebrations. However, as this deadline approached, a new date of the 12^th of August was announced, much to the chagrin of the Minister of Energy, Science and Technology, Daryl Vaz.

Now, after further assessment, JPS has further clarified by saying that while the other 14 parishes can expect complete restoration by August 12, areas in St Elizabeth may not have power until the end of August.

Locals have begun to vent their frustrations largely through non-violent protests, creating roadblocks and placards denouncing the light and power company.

Meanwhile, Grant said priority will be given to critical water pumps as well as educational institutions in St Elizabeth during the rebuilding process.

“We will be working closely with the local representatives, and will be in the communities with outreach activities to help ease the residents’ discomfort, and support their journey to full recovery,” he said.

According to JPS power has been restored to 98 per cent of its customers islandwide.