Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • International
      • #
    • Business
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • International
      • #
    • Business
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
  • Latest
  • Business
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • All Woman
  • Career & Education
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Classifieds
  • Design Week
OUR keeping spotlight on JPS
HEWITT... the OUR reiterates its commitment to lead an in-depth analysis of the electricity system’s resilience in the aftermath of the hurricanePhoto: Garfield Robinson
News
September 7, 2024

OUR keeping spotlight on JPS

Utilities watchdog conducting validation checks of post-Beryl restoration works

THE Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has commended Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) for what it describes as the company’s unstinting efforts in the laborious and sometimes risky restoration of electricity to its customers post-Hurricane Beryl.

“We extend special commendation to the JPS line staff who worked tirelessly to bring back power to customers, especially those in St Elizabeth and other areas hardest hit by the outages caused by the hurricane,” said OUR Director General Ansord Hewitt.

He pointed out that the OUR has been conducting validation checks on JPS’s restoration of its transmission and distribution infrastructure and reconnection of electricity supply to customers in St Elizabeth and Manchester.

This followed JPS’s announced completion of its post-Beryl restoration efforts last weekend.

According to Hewitt, the OUR team has reported that its observations indicate that all primary and secondary distribution circuits that were impacted are now restored and energised.

However, in terms of supply to customers, there are some premises where supply has not been restored due to electrical installations (pothead/conductors, meter pole, meter socket, etc) not being in place to accommodate service connection.

The OUR head noted that JPS reported in its last Hurricane Beryl Restoration Schedule of August 29 that power supply to all but three customers has been restored.

Of the three unrestored customers, two accounts relate to water pumps (National Irrigation Commission in St Elizabeth, and a privately owned pump in Portland) due to access and safety issues, and one customer in St Thomas.

According to JPS, its focus following the full restoration of its customers is to continue secondary work in St Elizabeth to redesign, upgrade, and rebuild sections of the distribution network.

The OUR said its technical team reported that its observations were consistent with earlier reports from JPS about issues on the customers’ side of the “connection point” that was preventing full restoration of supply to customers.

“The team discovered that some circuits, including structures, were restored based on a ‘rapid repair’ approach, and as a result, the problematic issues of leaning pole structures, excessive sagging of conductors, extended pole spans, etc, that existed before and after Hurricane Beryl, continue to exist,” said Hewitt.

“This has implications for the network’s structural integrity and resilience, and so the OUR proposes to continue monitoring JPS’s plan to revisit and reinforce the installations as part of its ‘rebuild and resilience’ strategy.

“The OUR’s team also took note of issues such as street lights in some areas which are still to be reconnected and significant number of illegal connections by way of ‘throw ups’ which were apparently not removed during the restoration process. These matters are being brought to JPS’s attention for action,” added Hewitt.

He said the OUR continues to urge JPS customers in parishes reported as being fully restored to confirm their power supply status.

Customers are being asked to e-mail
consumerestoration@our.org.jm or call the toll-free number: 888 CALL OUR (2255 687) if their electricity service has not been restored.

“The OUR reiterates its commitment to lead an in-depth analysis of the electricity system’s resilience in the aftermath of the hurricane. This analysis is expected to span the utility’s state of preparedness, impact assessments, communications with its customers, and restoration activities and will seek to identify deficiencies, and scope for improvement to enhance disaster recovery procedures,” said Hewitt.

A Jamaica Public Service crew member restoring electricity to a community following Hurricane Beryl.

{"xml":"xml"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

Nigerian sentenced for involvement in romance scam in Guyana
Latest News, Regional
Nigerian sentenced for involvement in romance scam in Guyana
June 12, 2025
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC)– A Nigerian man has been sentenced to six years in prison following his conviction for orchestrating a series of romance and ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
St Mary’s most wanted ‘Bapm’ turn himself in to the police
Latest News, News
St Mary’s most wanted ‘Bapm’ turn himself in to the police
June 12, 2025
ST MARY, Jamaica—Andrew Dixon, otherwise called ‘Bapm’, who was being sought by the St Mary police as the division’s most wanted, on Thursday, turned ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Loud explosions heard in Iranian capital amid ‘preemptive strike’ by Israel
International News, Latest News
Loud explosions heard in Iranian capital amid ‘preemptive strike’ by Israel
June 12, 2025
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) -- Explosions were heard Friday morning in Tehran, state TV reported, as Israel said it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran....
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Man in viral video killing granted $2m bail
Latest News, News
Man in viral video killing granted $2m bail
June 12, 2025
KINGSTON, Jamaica—A man charged after he was caught on video shooting another man was granted bail in the sum of $2 million in the Corporate Area Pari...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
PNP offers superior policies compared to the JLP — Crawford
Latest News, News
PNP offers superior policies compared to the JLP — Crawford
June 12, 2025
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition spokesperson on education, Damion Crawford, says the People’s National Party (PNP) has far better policies than the gover...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Jamaica draw T&T, Curacao and Bermuda in World Cup qualifying final round
Latest News, Sports
Jamaica draw T&T, Curacao and Bermuda in World Cup qualifying final round
June 12, 2025
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have been drawn in Group B of the final round of the Concacaf World Cup qualification on Thursday. The Reggae ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
UN agency says gang violence displaces a record 1.3 million Haitians
Latest News, Regional
UN agency says gang violence displaces a record 1.3 million Haitians
June 12, 2025
UNITED NATIONS (CMC) – The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) says nearly 1.3 million people have been forced to flee gang...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Jordan Scott improves PB to win Oslo DL triple jump
Latest News, Sports
Jordan Scott improves PB to win Oslo DL triple jump
June 12, 2025
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Jordan Scott set a new personal best 17.34m (1.1m/s) to win his second Wanda Diamond League event of the season after beating a qual...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct