Jamaica is facing a long road back to full power as Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness confirmed that electricity restoration for communities hit hardest by Hurricane Melissa could stretch up to six months. The Category 5 system—one of the most destructive storms to hit the island in recent years—left thousands across St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St. James without electricity for more than three weeks.
At a hurricane recovery press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday, Holness said the Government is pushing to shorten the projected timeline and is working closely with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to speed up the rebuilding of the national grid. To accelerate the process, JPS has already engaged 600 line workers from overseas, a move the Prime Minister believes could shave two to three months off the full recovery schedule. “If you use more resources, it may take a shorter time… they could shave off two to three months if they have the resources upfront,” Holness said.
JPS is now looking to expand its workforce to 900 line personnel—bringing in an additional 300 workers to strengthen recovery efforts. Holness emphasized that restoring electricity quickly is critical to getting communities functioning again. “If we get electricity back quicker, then water comes back quicker, communities start to normalize, we’re in a better position,” he noted.
Despite the widespread damage, JPS has restored power to 70 percent of customers, with plans to push past 75 percent by December. As recovery teams work around the clock, the Government continues to mobilize resources to bring the country fully back online as soon as possible.
