Residents fed up with JPS, post-Beryl electricity shortages

Fed up with the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) over what they claim is the company’s failure to restore electricity to their community after Hurricane Beryl, residents of Sheffield in Westmoreland staged roadblocks in a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday morning.

They left at 4 in the morning.

Angry residents used fallen trees, old refrigerators, old stoves and other debris to block the thoroughfare from vehicular traffic.

Members of the Westmoreland Police Division were kept busy clearing the roadblock.

Recovery Division Counsel Garfield James, who visited the scene, said that while he empathizes with residents who have been without power since the Category 4 hurricane passed, he does not support blocking the Savanna-la road. -Mar and the Negril tourist resort area.

He explained that the protest was triggered by a misunderstanding of the residents, who believe they have been neglected by the light and energy company.

“The fact is that they (JPS) have some elaborate programs and what led to this demonstration is that the electricity came from both sides – one at Bowen Road and one at Nampriel Road – and the people in the middle of Sheffield and the main got electricity back,” James said Loop News.

“Based on the company’s report, there are two light poles that are down at those two points, so they had to shut down the connection at those points,” he added.

The councilor said JPS workers will be working Wednesday morning to restore power to the community.

“The schedule is for the team to come in the morning to continue restoration efforts. So while I understand the plight of the residents and the fact that we need power back like so many other areas, resorting to blocking the road is definitely not the way to go,” said James.

He disclosed that the road is now cleared and accessible to motor traffic.

“So we are on the road now with the goal of having the road cleared. The road is now cleared for traffic and we are asking residents to exercise restraint. And the company will do its best to be in the space tomorrow to continue the restoration process.” James said.

A community member, Kenneth Williams, lamented the lack of political representatives to lobby on their behalf to restore electricity.

“We don’t see any MPs (Members of Parliament) or councilors telling us they need a back light,” Williams claimed.

He said the utility also needs more human resources.

“They need to hire more workers to get the job done because they’re only using their staff and that can’t help because as you can see the damage, they need to hire more workers,” Williams said.