It seems that well nigh two months since Hurricane Beryl passed near Jamaica’s south coast on July 3, causing massive damage, dislocation, and four deaths, electricity is soon to be restored to all bill-paying customers.

A release from light and power company Jamaica Public Service (JPS) on Sunday suggests it is on target to meet total restoration in St Elizabeth — the parish most affected by the hurricane — approaching the deadline of August 31.

While we will all be thankful, it’s important there is no pause in the push to ensure that the inadequacies shown up in the JPS’s disaster response are fully addressed.

In that respect, it’s well established that there are often many sides to any story.

And for sure, executives from utilities regulator Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), who have been under fire from all quarters for allegedly not doing enough to sanction JPS for perceived failures, gave their side in a sit-down with this newspaper last Friday.

OUR Director General Mr Ansord Hewitt and fellow executive Ms Cheryl Lewis, say they have been lobbying for increased powers for years without success.

As the situation now stands, OUR has to rely on the courts to apply sanctions, which can be tedious and time-consuming, when what’s required is quick, decisive action on behalf of customers.

Mr Hewitt argues that what’s needed is “… a certain environment in which the utilities operate and that there is the authority for sanctions, which is what we have been agitating for… because we think that it is critical”.

And, according to Ms Lewis: “As far back as 2012 the OUR has put proposals for the amendment of its Act to ensure that there is enforcement provisions [outside of court action]; to date, those amendments have not taken place, and we have had several reviews, we have had several submissions…”

The OUR tells us that increased monitoring of JPS maintenance work will be among its major aims going forward, given the weaknesses that were very obvious in southern Jamaica — St Elizabeth worst of all — post Beryl.

Neglect, leading to overgrown trees and other “vegetation” endangering JPS lines, was very obvious before, during, and after Beryl, and contributed in no small measure to storm damage and service loss.

Also, it was very clear to people in the deep-rural south that they were way down the totem pole in terms of the utility company’s priority list.

OUR tells us that “…customers in areas where they are located close together tend to have better reliability. So, like in Kingston and St Andrew, [there is] better reliability than in some places like St Elizabeth. We don’t want that, because everybody pays the same tariff, so the expectation is that you should get a similar service”.

How is there to be assurance that all JPS customers will eventually feel well served and that they are equal in the eyes of their electricity provider?

It seems to us that, at the earliest possible opportunity, all parties, including Government through its energy ministry, OUR, the JPS, and other relevant bodies need to meet and map a way forward.