SOME residents of St Elizabeth North Western say they have been experiencing frequent disruptions in electricity supply since power was restored in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which has been adversely impacting schools and several businesses.

According to Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, J C Hutchinson, his constituents have alleged that the frequent power cuts are a result of the hastily done work when the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) came under pressure to complete power restoration.

“It is the general belief among the constituents that the area was only patched up to meet the JPS’s service restoration deadline. I, therefore, urge the JPS to do right for the people of North West St Elizabeth,” Hutchinson said, during his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Hutchison said it is mainly residents in the New Market and Ginger Hill communities that are being affected, with New Market residents complaining that “nearly every day the electricity poses a huge challenge, especially for the business people.

“Lewisville High School, the New Market Health Centre, Beersheba Primary School, the police station and other businesses are adversely affected by these frequent outages,” he said.

Hutchinson, who is also state minister in the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, said the past year has been one of the most challenging of his political career which was further amplified by the difficulties presented by Hurricane Beryl.

“After Hurricane Beryl I was bombarded by the constituents demanding to have their electricity restored. It was a gruelling six weeks with demonstrations and verbal attacks because it was felt that enough was not being done by JPS to have the service restored and I, being their MP, should have it restored post-haste,” he said.

He thanked Energy Minister Daryl Vaz for the stellar job he did in keeping the nation informed and his assistance in “piloting us through the darkness of the post Hurricane Beryl period”.

Added Hutchinson: “He showed tenacity and grit as he championed our cause to JPS. This is the hallmark of our Government: to keep the country informed with factual information.”

A very vocal Vaz had been critical of JPS’s slow pace of restoration islandwide and had chastised the light and power company for not achieving full restoration by the agreed deadline in all parishes, except for parts of St Elizabeth for which the timeline was extended to August 31.

St Elizabeth was the parish most devastated by the hurricane which hit the island on July 3. Heavy rains and strong winds caused significant damage, rendering many roads impassable due to fallen trees and leaving numerous homes without roofs. It was also the parish that was without electricity the longest, with power being fully restored almost 60 days after the passage of the hurricane.

The minister had said he was not confident JPS would meet the August 31 deadline for St Elizabeth. However, the company announced three days ahead of schedule that power had been fully restored in the parish.

Hutchinson also used his presentation to lobby for a highway to be built from Mandeville to Santa Cruz, bypassing Spur Tree Hill.

“It takes roughly 45 minutes from Kingston to Williamsfield on the toll road but it takes another 45 minutes to an hour from Williamsfield to Santa Cruz,” he said, in highlighting the reason for the request.