Letter of the Day | Utility services and acts of God

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Since the passage of Hurricane Beryl, the companies providing telecommunications and electrical power have struggled to restore their services.

Most of the cable lines belonging to them which are suspended on poles belonging to the JPS were displaced and strewn along community roadways, subjecting them to damage from passing vehicles. Of the three service providers at my location, two were in the community within days to reconnect their cables on the poles, check with all those who lost service as a result of the storm, and restore their services. The service of the same two who came to fix their cables were also active during the storm. The third service provider for the Internet was advised of the disruption in the days following the storm, and I was told that they were assigning a reference number to the case, and someone would come to my location to check my system. To date, I have neither seen nor heard from that provider; unless I reach out and spend hours on their system waiting to speak to a person about my situation.

NONSENSICAL AND HEARTLESS

On the 30th of July, 27 days since the passage of the storm–and no one from that third service provider has been to my location to fix my service – to my surprise, they sent me a bill to be paid next month for services provided in July. I asked what service they provided in July and was told that their contract for services requires customers to pay services for events that disrupt their service, in this case, an “act of God”. It is true that their contract for services includes the clause that requires payment for services in the event of “acts of God”. If it is the case that Beryl is an act of God, who determined it to be so, them or the Government? And if so, how long is the act of God applicable to their disruption of service? If someone in the regulatory authority can advise, this information should be made public so that customers can plan accordingly.

Finally, my land line was changed from copper to fibre-optic cables, they say, because of the theft of copper cables. The result of this change is that my telephone service is disrupted whenever power goes, and this phone is the only means my mother, who is a senior citizen, uses; making her unable to contact anyone or be contacted. This situation is unfortunate and the lack of communication with us leaves me with the impression that they don’t care what happens to their customers, only about their money for more advertisements and salaries. All the other service providers have fixed their cables, why has this company been unable to do the same. There must be a limit to the time claimed for acts of God. Otherwise, Jamaica could be submerged by an earthquake, and we would be required by law to compensate them for their services. This is nonsensical and heartless. In today’s environment, both power and telecommunications are essential to daily activities, this should be reflected in the urgency and expedience in the response of all utility providers. I agree with the MP who said that the Electricity Act of 2015 should be revised to include how these services are managed during emergencies, and a similar revision made to the Telecommunications Act of 2000.

HUGH M. DUNBAR, AIA

Architect

Bull Bay, St Andrew