ST JAMES, Jamaica — The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has intensified efforts to restore electricity in St James following the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Director of Customer Solutions, Leroy Reid, said 72 per cent of customers in the parish remain without power.

Reid, who was addressing an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) meeting at the St James Municipal Corporation on Thursday, said that damage assessment is at 95 per cent completion, with drones currently being deployed to finalise the evaluation by the end of the week.

He said that grid stabilisation remains a top priority, and work is ongoing to establish a new transmission path from Bogue to Duncans to provide St James with an additional source of supply.

Efforts are also being made to extend the transmission path to Hanover and Westmoreland to restore power to the Negril area.

Reid said that the recent progress includes the re-energisation of Montego Bay, beginning at the city centre and expanding along key corridors, including Barnett Street.

Additionally, the wharf in Freeport has been energised to facilitate the visit of a cruise ship on Monday  with ongoing clean-up and preparation work in progress.

Reid thanked the local authority for its support with a recent emergency road closure on Queen’s Drive, which facilitated urgent repairs to a damaged utility pole.

He explained that if the pole had fallen, three additional structures would have come down, potentially blocking critical access to the Bogue Generation Station.

“The Bogue Generation Station is still operating as an island, so all restoration work, to date, in St James could have been compromised, hence the urgent notification for support with road closure,” he outlined.

– JIS