JAMAICA Public Service (JPS) says it is currently undertaking extensive rebuilding works to restore electricity to the Roaring River National Water Commission (NWC) pump, which supplies water to approximately 50,000 Westmoreland residents. The energisation of the lines leading to the pump is also expected to restore power to more than 1,700 customers across sections of Westmoreland.

JPS President & CEO Hugh Grant said the company is giving top priority to the restoration of power to the Roaring River pump because of the significance of this facility to the parish of Westmoreland.

“We understand the inconvenience and potential health challenges caused by the absence of water. While relatively few JPS customers will be restored despite the extensive work being done here, the greater benefit lies in getting water to the residents. This is consistent with our restoration strategy of giving priority to critical services such as water, hospitals, and telecommunication,” he said.

The effort involves the rebuilding of over 10 miles of electricity lines from the power source at the JPS Paradise substation to NWC’s Roaring River pump.

“Several roadways were washed away and others were left waterlogged due to flooding from Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. Because of the catastrophic damage, we have to redesign routes, relocate infrastructure and rebuild entire sections of line for a more resilient network. Over 300 electricity poles are being replanted along the corridor. To complete the rebuilding, more than 100 line workers have been deployed, including overseas and local contractors working alongside JPS teams,” Grant shared.

Kenyatta Campbell, operations area manager at JPS underscored the challenges being faced by the restoration crews.

“This is some of the most difficult work our teams have had to undertake during the restoration process. We are relocating poles from areas that have now become swamps, to more solid ground. This has taken us into extremely challenging terrain, with crews facing rocky soil conditions in newly identified locations where poles have to be erected. This requires specialised equipment tailored for rock digging. Once completed, the works will restore electricity to Petersfield, Shrewsbury, Carawina, Waterworks, Dean’s Valley, Petersfield High School, and surrounding sections of the Petersfield community, while also enabling the re-energisation of the Roaring River pump,” Campbell said.

According to JPS, this phase of work is part of the “last mile” of restoration and is among the most challenging, as it requires major rebuilding while restoring electricity to a smaller number of customers, compared to earlier stages.

“This stage of restoration underscores our commitment to restoring electricity to every last customer. Even where the numbers are smaller, the effort, resources and technical expertise required are significant, and our teams will continue to work 24/7 to complete this work as safely and quickly as possible,” Grant said.

“We continue to rely on strong partnerships and collaboration to get our customers restored. The progress we have made so far was possible only because of heightened stakeholder engagement at both the national and local levels.”

In addition to work being done across Westmoreland, the “last mile” includes continuing efforts to rebuild the power system and onboard customers in St Elizabeth, Hanover, St James and Trelawny.

Several newly installed light poles are seen in Water Works, Westmoreland, as JPS teams, supported by overseas contracting firm Holland Power Services rebuild sections of the electricity network in western Jamaica.

Crew members from Canadian contracting firm Holland Power Services are assisted by a digger derrick as they dig holes for the replanting of several JPS poles uprooted during the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa.