Copyright jamaicaobserver
Latest News International News North & East Environment Social Love Horse Racing World Champs Commonwealth Games FIFA World Cup 2022 Entertainment Art & Culture Tuesday Style Food Awards JOL Takes Style Out Design Week JA Black Friday Relationships Classifieds Motor Vehicles Place an Ad Jobs & Careers Study Centre Jnr Study Centre Advertorial Supplements Latest News International News North & East Environment Social Love Horse Racing World Champs Commonwealth Games FIFA World Cup 2022 Entertainment Art & Culture Tuesday Style Food Awards JOL Takes Style Out Design Week JA Black Friday Relationships Classifieds Motor Vehicles Place an Ad Jobs & Careers Study Centre Jnr Study Centre Advertorial Supplements International News Food Awards Entertainment World Champs Career & Education Environment Advertorial Supplements Classifieds Design Week A Jamaica Public Service lineman at work in Montego Bay last week as the company moved to restore electricity to the city following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.Photo: Naphtali Junior Jerome Williams | Reporter November 12, 2025 From darkness to light JPS reports 64 per cent of customers reconnected two weeks after Hurricane Melissa TWO weeks after Hurricane Melissa’s onslaught on Jamaica, 64 per cent of Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) customers now have electricity restored, the firm’s president and CEO Hugh Grant revealed Tuesday, while promising to provide detailed restoration timelines for the remaining affected areas by the end of this week. Speaking at a special press briefing called by the Government to give updates on the ongoing recovery efforts, Grant described the restoration completed so far as “a solid achievement given the scale of destruction”. He noted that more than 300,000 customers have been reconnected since Hurricane Melissa left large sections of the island without power. However, he noted that the devastation caused by the storm was far worse on the ground than any aerial view could capture. “I had an opportunity first-hand this weekend to go to the western region, and let me tell you, it’s a different thing when you see it in person than when you see it from a helicopter. It’s truly a devastation,” Grant said. But despite the immense damage, he assured that JPS remains committed to restoring power to all its customers as quickly as possible. “You may have recalled that I shared that prior to the hurricane we brought in 71 overseas line workers. I’m pleased to share that since the passage of the hurricane, we have brought in, additionally, more than 200 line workers to help with the safe and timely restoration. In addition to that, we are also bringing in additional vehicles, bucket trucks, hole digging trucks, that are expected to be here by this weekend. This will also be a key resource to help in expediting our restoration activities safely and timely,” he announced. Grant noted that while teams have made significant progress in the eastern and central parishes, the level of destruction in the west has forced the company to go beyond simple repairs. “It’s a redesign and rebuild of our facilities. We have seen whereby landslides have caused poles and other infrastructure to be significantly damaged, and frankly, we have to now re-route some of our facilities and redesign to facilitate restoration. The good news is, we’re making progress. Our strategy is to first restore critical services like hospitals and water pumps and town centres in these key economic zones,” he said. However, he highlighted several key successes, including the restoration of power to Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, St Ann’s Bay Hospital, the Ocho Rios Port and Dunn’s River Falls, both in St Ann. Grant also pointed to significant advances in St Elizabeth, where JPS managed to restore electricity to Junction and Southfield. “We did this by doing some creative things on the distribution system to facilitate St Elizabeth being supplied from Manchester. There is, however, a limitation to that as we have built out in St Elizabeth to a stage now whereby to go further you will need the critical high-voltage transmission to be restored and that has been significantly damaged,” he said. In St James, he said, the company has already restored electricity to several major facilities, helping to jump-start the local economy. “We have also restored some significant NWC [National Water Commission] pumps in the parish of St James. The Catherine Mount and Reading NWC pumps are now in service. We have also restored the Fairview Shopping Centre and the Fairview community in St James, so those people now are seeing the light,” Grant reported. Among the most symbolic milestones, he said, was the restoration of electricity to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. He further announced that Falmouth, Trelawny, would soon see electricity return to key locations. “This week, power will be in Trelawny; we will have power in Falmouth town, Falmouth Hospital, and also the pier whereby we are supporting the return of cruise ships to that particular pier,” he promised, adding that power will be in Hanover and Westmoreland in the next two weeks. As the company continues to rebuild, Grant pledged transparency and consistency in communication, promising a more detailed parish-by-parish restoration update later this week. “Be reassured that we are committed to be steadfast and strategic in our restoration activities. We are making progress and as we make greater progress with our damage assessments, by the end of this week, I will be giving you more detailed updates in terms of restoration timelines and parishes and communities,” he said. Jamaica Public Service Company president and CEO Hugh Grant smiles before reporting to the country on Tuesday that electricity has been restored to 64 per cent of the company’s customers since the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Grant shared the information at the media briefing called by the Government at the Office of the Prime Minister to update the country on the hurricane recovery efforts. (Photo: Joseph Wellington) {"xml":"xml"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} 0 Comments · Make a comment ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER Latest News, Music Green outlines recovery efforts for agriculture sector November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says the Agricultural Disaster Recovery Task Force, led by Michael Pryce, which was established a... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Over 700 temporary vector control workers employed — Tufton November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — With the mosquito population already showing an increase in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, including the dengue-carrying Aede... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Over 5,000kg of food condemned since Melissa hit — Tufton November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has revealed that 5,661 kilogrammes of food have been condemned by public he... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Agriculture sustains $29.5 billion in damage from Hurricane Melissa November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, says the sector has suffered some $29.5 billion in losses following th... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Small businesses in Portland struggle after Hurricane Melissa November 11, 2025 PORTLAND, Jamaica — Small business owners across Portland are facing a confluence of setbacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Pauline, a shop a... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Allianz Memorial Van Damme donates US$100k to Usain Bolt Foundation for hurricane relief November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Allianz Memorial Van Damme, the Brussels athletics meeting and host of next year’s Wanda Diamond League final, is donating US$... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Couples Resorts, Issa Trust Foundation launch disaster relief fund BY KEVIN JACKSON Observer Writer November 11, 2025 With the focus on helping their team members navigate the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, Couples Resorts has also sought to help the communi... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News NWC restores water to 72.6 per cent of customers November 11, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Water Commission (NWC) has restored supply to 72.6 per cent of its customers across Jamaica. Providing the update dur... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} HOUSE RULES We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email:community@jamaicaobserver.com. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Recent Posts Archives Please enable JavaScript to view the poll powered by Disqus. Recent Posts Archives Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean Featured Tags Entertainment Entertainment Jamaica Observer,© All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy Editorial Code of Conduct
