ST ANDREW, Jamaica – The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) says that residents of the Happy Grove community in rural St Andrew have moved to regularise their electricity connections after years of receiving illegal service.

According to the JPS, the community of approximately 100 homes initially did not have the infrastructure to support safe and legal supply to the entire area, with only 10 per cent of residents enjoying legal supply.  

Teams from JPS began to engage the community in 2017 through a series of meetings in the community, with a view to helping them to get safe, legal supply to their homes and businesses, the electricity distribution company said in a release.

The residents were very responsive and the company completed the work for the infrastructure by installing transformers and assisting residents who were in the process of readying themselves for regularisation, with completing their contracts to receive supply, the JPS stated.

“Following months of engagement and preparation, the community was gradually moved to 90 per cent regularisation, with the remaining 10 per cent now in the process of officially getting on the grid. The JPS team has been working with residents, gifting the first set of new customers with helpful energy efficiency tools such as LED bulbs,” the release stated.   

JPS added that all individuals who are not regularised should make contact with the company via 1-888-CALLJPS or its social media platforms @myjpsonline for more information on legalising their service.