JPS launches reliability programme
JAMAICA Public Service (JPS) President & CEO Emanuel DaRosa yesterday launched the light and power company’s reliability 3.0 programme, which is designed to improve reliability of the electricity service by 30 per cent over the next three to five years.
The initiative will see the average duration of outages experienced by customers in a one-year period drop from 29 hours to 20 hours for the same period.
The announcement was made at the company’s monthly media briefing held at its New Kingston head office.
The reliability programme, which will be supported this year by a budget of US$116 million or $15.08 billion, will include new technology-driven solutions a proactive asset management strategy, and traditional grid maintenance and improvement initiatives.
“Coming out of the initiative, customers can expect to see fewer outages, shortened duration of outages in those areas where the new technologies are being rolled out, and improved communication with customers on outages,” said the JPS.
The reliability 3.0 programme, is the third major phase of electricity reliability in the company’s history. The other two phases were in the 1970s when the company, in collaboration with the Rural Electrification Programme, increased access to electricity from 49 per cent coverage to today’s coverage of 98 per cent. The second major phase occurred in 2003, when the construction of the Bogue Power Plant in Montego Bay effectively ended rolling blackouts across Jamaica, which were due to chronic shortfalls in generation.
“The JPS reliability programme will take the country to the next major stage of reliability as the company makes every effort to move the service to cutting-edge, world-class standards,” said the light and power company yesterday.