MORE than 350,000 Jamaica Public Service (JPS) customers have started benefiting from a special discount, a relief initiative which was introduced following the passage of Hurricane Beryl in early July.

“The JPS Hurricane Beryl bill Discount, which is the biggest JPS relief initiative since Beryl, includes a 20 per cent discount on the bills of post-paid residential customers who use 150 kilowatt-hours of electricity or less for the month, as well as top-up electricity credit for active prepaid customers,” JPS chief financial officer Vernon Douglas said.

“We are happy to have been able to provide this cushion for our most vulnerable customers. Recognising the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Beryl on our customers, JPS also relaxed our collections and disconnection processes. We have continued to facilitate flexible payment arrangements for customers who need extensions on their due dates,” he said.

The 20 per cent discount is reflected as a separate line item on the bills that qualified customers start receiving in August. Prepaid customers are being notified by text messages of the one-off $1,500 top-up electricity credit being applied to their accounts, said the JPS.