Key Points:

Jamaica’s utility sector remains in recovery months after Hurricane Melissa, with electricity, water and telecom services not yet fully stabilised ahead of the new hurricane season.

While restoration has reached near-complete levels (about 99 per cent for electricity and 97 per cent for water), service quality and reliability remain concerns in some areas.

The storm has intensified calls for more resilient infrastructure, improved financing for recovery, and reduced dependence on imported energy.

JAMAICA’S utility sector remains in recovery mode months after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, with electricity, water and telecommunications systems yet to be fully stabilised even as the country approaches the start of a new hurricane season.

Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Ansord Hewitt, said while significant progress has been made since the Category 5 storm, restoration efforts are not yet complete and service quality remains a concern in some areas.

“In the utility sector, we are still in recovery mode,” Hewitt said during his State of the Utility Sector address at the OUR’s 12th annual Director General’s Stakeholder Engagement at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Thursday.

The storm caused an estimated US$12 billion in damage and losses — equivalent to more than half of Jamaica’s gross domestic product — with widespread impact across electricity, water, transport and telecommunications infrastructure.

Hewitt said electricity restoration has reached about 99 per cent overall, though some parishes continue to lag, while the National Water Commission has restored service to approximately 97 per cent of customers.

In the telecommunications sector, operators have brought most systems back online, but service levels are not yet fully normalised across all areas.

Telecommunications providers reported that as much as 70 per cent of mobile networks were offline immediately after the storm, underscoring the scale of disruption to critical communications infrastructure. While operators have since restored the majority of services, rebuilding efforts are continuing, including upgrades to strengthen network resilience.

Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) said about 23 per cent of customers retained electricity immediately after the hurricane, supported by prior investments in grid hardening and operational systems, highlighting the uneven nature of resilience across the network.

“I provide these statistics to underscore the progress we have made, but at the same time be mindful of the continued impact on households and businesses that are still without these essential services,” Hewitt said.

He warned that attention must now shift beyond restoration to improving the quality and reliability of service.

“I am also mindful that in the restoration process, the quality of service issue has suffered, and that is something that our utilities will have to attend to very quickly as the next priority,” he said.

Industry operators have also cautioned that restoring service does not necessarily mean systems are fully resilient, pointing to ongoing investment needs and structural challenges that could affect future performance.

The ongoing recovery comes against the backdrop of the approaching Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1, leaving utilities with a narrow window to complete repairs and strengthen infrastructure.

“We are only two-and-a-half months away from the start of the new hurricane season,” Hewitt said, noting that preparations for the next cycle of storms are already under way.

The experience of Hurricane Melissa has prompted renewed focus on building more resilient infrastructure, including strengthening transmission systems, expanding the use of distributed energy resources and improving coordination among utilities and government agencies.

Hewitt said the sector must move beyond simply restoring damaged infrastructure and instead focus on rebuilding systems that can better withstand future shocks.

“Building resilience within utility sectors means not simply restoring what was lost, but rebuilding stronger, smarter and more adaptive systems,” he said.

He also highlighted the importance of financing in enabling faster recovery and long-term resilience, pointing to the need for more structured funding mechanisms for utilities.

While Jamaica has developed a multi-layered disaster financing framework at the national level, he said similar arrangements are needed within the utility sector to ensure faster access to capital following major events.

The regulator is also encouraging greater use of public-private partnerships, infrastructure financing tools and renewable energy investments to reduce long-term vulnerability.

Hewitt warned that global factors, including rising oil prices and geopolitical instability, are adding further pressure to the sector, reinforcing the urgency of strengthening energy security and reducing dependence on imported fuels.

“Resilience is not built in moments of crisis,” he said. “It is built before, tested during and strengthened after.”