Blackout Friday fizzles

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

There was a lukewarm response in the Corporate Area to calls for a blackout against the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) yesterday while the planned march on the company attracted mainly partisan support.

The protest was organised mainly on social- networking websites and was designed to highlight disgust with the high electricity bills being faced by many JPS customers.

In Half-Way Tree, Cross Roads and New Kingston, several persons were seen wearing black, but there was not the overwhelming support organisers had pushed for.

However, those clad in black made it clear they were supporting calls for a review of the JPS's operations.

In New Kingston, the People's National Party Youth Organisation's planned march on the Corporate Offices of the JPS attracted few participants who were not supporters of the party.

The cheers which greeted the arrival of Opposition Senator K.D. Knight underscored the partisan nature of the protest and some persons dressed in black stayed on the opposite side of the road.

An official of the JPS accepted a letter from the president of the PNP's youth arm listing its recommendations for the company.