KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) says that since the start of this year it has embarked on a programme of “direct contact” in several communities across the island.

The direct contact initiative, the JPS said, is aimed at face-to-face meetings, addressing concerns and providing customers with the convenience of checking their bill balances, discussing regularisation, and other general queries. 

According to the JPS, this week, July 15 – 19, teams have been on the ground in Flanker, St James meeting with people to assist with regularisation, billing concerns, reconnections and a range of customer service issues.

“The team has already met with approximately 550 residents (in Flanker) and has been assisting them with their billing concerns and providing regularization solutions. The programme has received overwhelmingly positive responses, with some persons who were off the grid for years, being assisted to return to the grid legally,” the JPS stated in a release.

 “Others have had various customer service issues attended to, including signing of contracts for new service, transfer of service and reconnection of supply. The JPS team has also been focussing on energy management and sharing service options such as prepaid versus postpaid”.

Other communities which have benefitted from the direct contact programme include Seaview Gardens, Denham Town and Waterhouse, with positive responses, the JPS said. In Seaview Gardens over 1,500 residents benefitted from the programme, while 350 and 426 people were served in Waterhouse and Denham Town respectively.