JUST under six months after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s western end with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, 2,764 customers — the majority of whom are in Westmoreland — are still without electricity.

Making the disclosure Wednesday during the weekly post-cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Daryl Vaz said 2,561 customers in Westmoreland and 203 customers in St Elizabeth remain off the grid despite the best efforts of light and power outfit Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Limited.

“The major challenges we are facing in those parishes are torrential rains and extensive flooding, which is hampering the works and we have lost 13 days as a result of that,” the energy minister disclosed. “Some customers’ properties are still not able to safely connect to the grid due to the damage from the hurricane even though electricity service is available in the areas,“ he added.

He said problems include the weather, terrain and access, in mostly hilly areas, with narrow, winding and, in cases, damaged roads, in addition to landslides limiting specialised vehicle access.

“A significant portion of the remaining work involves rocky terrain that requires specialised excavation, this slows pole installation significantly and lengthens restoration time in areas with sparse population density,” Vaz told the briefing.

In the meantime, the energy minister said the restoration efforts of the light and power company after the devastating effects of Hurricane Melissa which hit Jamaica on October 28 last year remain well advanced with 99.6 per cent of customers now reconnected to the grid. The customer base is just under 700,000.

“Between April 1 and April 13, tangible progress was made including the restoration of 258 customers and the substantial completion (of connections for) 26 communities across the two most affected parishes. This includes 11 communities in Westmoreland and 15 in St Elizabeth. This level of progress would not have been possible without the decisive government intervention. When the US$150-million loan was approved in December it was in direct response to projections that restoration could drag into late 2026 and even early 2027, an outcome that was completely unacceptable. This underscores that real commitment requires strong deliberate measures, not words alone,” Vaz stressed.

In the meantime, he said the aim is “to have restoration substantially completed by April 30 for customers who are able to have power restored except for significant issues, such as lack of access”.

“So far we have spent in excess of $1 billion [to reconnect homes]. We have the Jamaica Social Investment Fund working with and, of course, now that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security are far advanced with the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters programme, obviously those persons will be able to put their houses in a condition that we can deal with them as quickly as possible,” Vaz said.

The energy minister said communities substantially completed between April 1 and April 13 in St Elizabeth included Beersheba, Brighton, Brompton, Cedar Valley, Cheviot Hill, Claremont, Cotterwood, Cottage Lane, Sandy Ground, Crawford, Dalintober, Hopewell, Flint River, Lower Works, Mulgrave and Retirement. Communities in Westmoreland include Asthon, Amity, Bethel Town, Barneyside, Burnt Ground, Ferris, Haddo, Hertford, Mearnsville, Ramble, Seaford Town, and St Leonards.