KINGSTON, Jamaica— Line crews from Belize and the Cayman Islands are to travel to Jamaica to help the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) teams in those sections of the island where electricity is yet to be restored since July 3 when Hurricane Beryl impacted the country.

This will be facilitated through the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (Carilec), which has been asked to provide support services in the coming days.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement in another update on the Government’s recovery efforts post-Beryl, in a statement in the House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon.

He also stated that power has been restored to 94 per cent or approximately 655,000 of JPS customers.

The prime minister said JPS has also indicated that it has supplemented its resource pool with former employees, as well as engaging local contractors from the bauxite industry, who will be assigned to Hanover and St Elizabeth.

On the matter of the JPS customer base, Holness pointed out that St Elizabeth, the hardest-hit parish, makes up five per cent of JPS customers.

“The customer base is highly concentrated in Kingston and St Andrew, Spanish Town, Portmore and St James. That is because of the urban nature of electricity usage,” he pointed out.

Holness argued that “this is not to say that there are not significant areas that are without electricity”.

Holness said power has also been restored to all major hospitals and restoration to critical National Water Commission sites is approximately 81 per cent complete as of July 16. He also announced that power has been restored to roughly 49 per cent of customers in St Elizabeth, including sections of Black River, Junction, Alligator Pond, Santa Cruz, Siloah, Lacovia, Elderslie and Top Hill.

“The JPS has indicated that they’re targeting the week ending August 10 for full restoration islandwide,” he told the House.

Member of Parliament for Clarendon South Western, Lothan Cousins, pointed out that many communities in his constituency are still without electricity.

He listed Alley, Water Lane, Racecourse, Banks, Kemps Hill and all of Milk River including the communities of Sedge Pond, Spring Field, Clifton, Farquhar Beach and Rest being without power nearly two weeks after the hurricane passed.

The prime minister committed to enquire of the JPS when these communities will be energised while emphasising that the JPS is a privately-owned company in which the Government has a 20 per cent stake.