KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has reported that its power generation teams have now completed the overhaul of one of the three generating units, located at the Old Harbour Power Plant in St Catherine.  

One of the three generating units, which produces on average 320,000 megawatt hours of electricity per annum, was taken out of service  in April of this year, to facilitate the overhaul/rehabilitation  exercise.

In a release Friday, JPS said the project represented an investment by the company of US$8.55M or J$1.035Billion, and will result in a 5% improvement in the reliability of the unit, as well as enhanced efficiency in the use of fuel. It should be noted that the renewed Unit will now operate as efficiently as it did when originally purchased.

Old Harbour’s Unit 3, produces enough electricity to power 130,000 households per annum – assuming a household consumption rate of 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, JPS said.  

The company said it was however able to allow this unit to be out of commission, due to the preparation of other units for maximum performance, as well as coordination with the country’s Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

The rehabilitation exercise, which lasted close to 100 days, saw JPS providing employment for more than 150 local personnel, the release added.  

Vice President of Generation, Joseph Williams, has assured that “JPS will continue to focus on enhancing the reliability and fuel efficiency of its power plants, as a means of containing the cost of energy and improving the reliability of service to customers.”