WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — Illegal connections that have overloaded the system and destroyed six transformers in four weeks are being blamed for a power outage that has plagued Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) customers in Hatfield, Westmoreland, since May 22.

Paying customers are complaining that their quality of life has been severely impacted because of the service interruption.

“We have received no formal communication from any politician, neither from JPS,” resident Denise Cameron told the Jamaica Observer. “They need to restore the electricity so that those of us who are paying a bill every month can have the comfort.”

She said the power outage has also impacted her water supply as she uses an electrical pump to push water from her tank to her house. She works from home but now has to go to other locations to send e-mail and charge her phone so she can make work calls.

Also impacted are parents who need to iron their children’s school uniforms. Many walk to a nearby community and rely on the kindness of neighbours.

“If the children don’t have a full set of uniform for the week, you know you have to wash and go back again in the week. Then, as for cooking, we cannot store anything, so we have to buy food daily to cook, which costs us more,” said a woman who only gave her name as Karver. She lives in the community with her four children and spouse.

“My mother-in-law had to close her shop as well,” Karver continued. “She cannot sell anything cold and you know dat a weh people buy. If we want anything cold we have to buy ice from out the road.”

A number of other small shops have also shuttered their doors.

In a release on Monday, the JPS noted that Hatfield has a particularly high level of electricity theft.

“The fact of the matter is that they have been stealing and overloading the transformer in their community, and as a result, they have burnt up and destroyed six transformers over the period,” JPS Media and Public Relations Manager Audrey Williams told the Observer. “This shocking state of affairs is what has caused their most recent outage, which commenced a few days ago. JPS is now actively pursuing a technical solution that we hope will prevent the wanton destruction of equipment – which is an unacceptable practice, from any point of view.”

Williams said the company is working to replace two transformers this week, but cautions that if the rate of power stealing continues, then these too will be destroyed by residents as well.

“So this is clearly an interim measure,” she added. “JPS is therefore appealing to the residents of Hatfield, Westmoreland, to come in and get their service regularised.”