JPS adds 270 trucks, 470 line workers to accelerate power restoration

The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has commissioned another 270 trucks and 470 new linesmen for the hardest hit parishes, where persons are living without electricity, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Importation of the vehicles was made possible from a US$150-million (J$24 billion) loan the Government gave to the power company, which was approved in November 2025 by the Cabinet.

The new linesmen, both local and from overseas, will make up the 800 needed, and the trucks to just under 500.

The vehicles were officially commissioned at the JPS Hunts Bay Power Plant located along Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, on Friday.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness witnessed a fleet being loaded with gas and sent off to other parishes in the island.

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“The decision to facilitate the JPS is working for the benefit of the people of Jamaica. The financing of the JPS to accelerate the recovery of our electricity grid, the decision to lend the JPS US$150 million, it has been criticised in quarters for which the criticism is not unexpected but it is important to position it against other decisions that we have made, which have turned out to be the correct decision, which has facilitated the building of resilience and the fast recovery of the economy,” Holness said.

“Though the JPS is a private company with public interest, the JPS provides a public service. The JPS provides a public good, and that public good cannot, in any way, be disrupted. It is the foundation on which we have growth. It is the foundation for security and it is the foundation for your daily convenience and, therefore, the Government must do everything in its power to ensure that our electricity grid is up and running effectively; so, we took a decision to support the provision of a public good,” he continued.

He said the second consideration before issuing the US$150-million loan was that the Government recognised that the regulatory structure in which the JPS operates is not one that supports that optimum provision of service to the public and, therefore, the decision was taken although the licence for the JPS will soon be negotiated.

There is approximately 90 per cent islandwide electricity recovery and 70 per cent recovery of electricity in the parishes most affected.

The Opposition People's National Party has criticised the JPS loan, saying the government needed to speak more on the factors that drove the five-year deal when the JPS' licence is due to expire in two years.

Meanwhile, President and Chief Executive Officer, JPS, Hugh Grant, said the 90 per cent of customers already reconnected on the country’s electricity grid is above industry standards two months after the unprecedented Category Five Hurricane Melissa.

“That is not by chance. It is due to the strong partnerships, the strong stakeholder engagements, and I want to make a special call-out and thanks to the Government of Jamaica for the strong partnership that allowed us to deliver on what we have been delivering on so far,” Mr. Grant said.

He said the overseas line workers being on the ground prior to the passage of the hurricane, which was part of the JPS’s strategy, has led to an accelerated pace of restoration.

The category five storm hit Jamaica on October 28, killing at least 45 people and leaving more than US$8.8 billion ($1.4 trillion) in damage.

- JIS News contributed to this article.