Business leaders concerned about restoration of basic services in Westmoreland
JPS says it’s prioritising, working overtime
Published:Saturday | July 6, 2024 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
As business leaders in Westmoreland moved to pick up the pieces from the passage of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday, they are concerned about the time it is taking for utility companies to restore service.
Westmoreland has been without electricity, water, and a stable means of communication via mobile phone services, and some business establishments have resorted to using generators for light and power.
“Not everyone has a standby generator, and for those who do, they are not able to connect their entire operations, therefore some supermarket owners are worried about not having electricity,” said Moses Chybar, president of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Persons in the seafood, cold storage business are somewhat worried that if they don’t get electricity very soon they risk losing some of their products,” he added.
According to Chybar, the absence of electricity, along with poor communication issues, has left the business community frustrated.
Up to late Friday evening, he noted that telecommunications provider Digicel collapsed during the passage of the hurricane, literally shutting down communications among business owners and operators.
In the resort town of Negril, which is located in the parishes of Westmoreland and Hanover, businesswoman Elaine Allen-Bradley expressed frustration, mainly about the lack of electricity.
She told The Gleaner that based on an update provided to the Negril business community there was no mention that the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) was working to restore electricity in Westmoreland and Hanover.
“We don’t have any water or electricity and when I look at the advisory posted in the resort security’s WhatsApp group every other parish is mentioned except Westmoreland and Hanover, and I am very annoyed about it,” said Allen-Bradley.
Questioning property tax
That level of frustration has left the her questioning their payment of property tax.
“I am thinking that maybe we should stop paying property tax because Westmoreland is one of the most compliant parishes when it comes to paying our taxes,” she charged.
Responding to the concerns, the JPS says it is working to restore electricity to critical services such as the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital and then the business community.
On Wednesday during the passage of Hurricane Beryl, heavy winds associated with its passage blew down several light poles across the parish, including one with two transformers that supply the hospital on Barracks Road in Savanna-la-Mar.
“We are working in Westmoreland today (Friday). Our priority is to ensure that the line serving the hospital is energised, so repairs are being done on that line as a key priority,” said Winsome Callum, director of Corporate Communications at JPS.
“In energising this line we are expecting that other customers who are fed by that circuit will be energised,” she explained, while sharing that the light and power company is working around the clock to restore electricity to all its customers as quickly as possible.
“Our next priority will be to ensure that the business sector is served. I am not able to give a timetable now but this is our priority,” the JPS communications director said.
“Not only in Westmoreland but right across the island. We’ll first be serving the critical services and then the businesses sector as best as possible, while we bring on our other customers,’’ said Callum.