OFFICE of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has issued a directive to Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) to restore light and power to customers affected by Hurricane Beryl by August 12, 2024, or face sanctions.

OUR avoided using the term ultimatum but warned the light and power company that: “Failure to comply with this directive within the time specified will render JPS liable to enforcement action pursuant to Section 9 of the Office of Utilities Regulation Act.

“Given that the company has missed previously established timelines, the OUR’s directive, which took effect on July 31, 2024, requires JPS to comply with the latest restoration dates it has given,” the State agency insisted.

OUR told JPS to repair its damaged network infrastructure due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl, in accordance with its restoration schedule to restore power to its customers who are currently without electricity, and ‘achieve 100 per cent restoration to consumers throughout the island of Jamaica, “subject to the inaccessibility issues faced in the areas specified as exceptions — by 2024 August 12”.

Commenting on the OUR’s latest action, an obviously annoyed Director General Ansord Hewitt declared: “We have conveyed to JPS in all our engagements that we expect that it will exercise all diligence to expedite restoration.

“At our last meeting with JPS on Monday, July 29, 2024, it assured us that all service would be fully restored by August 12, 2024 in the most critically damaged areas.

“The OUR is satisfied that, at this point, enough time has elapsed for JPS to have fully grasped the extent and nature of the damage and disruption to its network, the available resources, and the practicable timeline for restoration. We therefore expect that these are achievable targets.”

Hewitt said OUR is aware that these dates bring little consolation to customers who have been without service since July 3, and urged the company to “take every possible step, including the engagement of additional resources, to better these timelines”.