KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Prime Minister Andrew Holness, on Friday, defended the decision of his administration to facilitate financing for the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) to accelerate grid restoration, including a loan facility valued at US$150 million.
“The JPS is a private company with public interest. The JPS provides a public service… And that public good cannot in any way be disrupted,” Holness said as he addressed a ceremony marking the arrival of additional trucks with specialised equipment to aid JPS restoration works.
He said that the financing arrangement was deliberately separated from ongoing negotiations regarding the company’s operating licence, ensuring that electricity restoration following Hurricane Melissa would not be delayed.
Holness said as a result of this support, JPS now has more than 270 trucks and approximately 470 workers deployed, bringing the total workforce to nearly 900 line workers and close to 500 trucks.
He said that the government wants to strengthen the national power grid as part of efforts to boost Jamaica’s resilience, and that the displacement caused by Hurricane Melissa highlighted the need for infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and reduce electricity downtime.
He spoke of the need for stronger light poles, the presence of micro-grids, and placing power lines underground and that following the passage of the Category 5 strom in October last year, that killed 45 people and left damage estimated at more than US$9.9 billion, the government had directed the JPS to explore, where feasible, putting sections of the national power grid underground.
Holness said that a suggestion had been made to include the ‘Elegant Corridor’ and ‘Hip Strip’ in Montego Bay, St James, among the areas considered for this solution.
Holness said the matter is being discussed at Cabinet and with the utility company, and that costings have been received.
“No doubt the costs are high. But sometimes you have to compare high cost with high loss. What do we lose by not having resilience in the grid?” Holness said, expressing confidence that Jamaica will recover better from Melissa.
“The strength of the recovery is not just to restore; it is to build forward, not to build back. We’re going to be building Jamaica forward, and we’re going to build Jamaica better than it was before.”
Holness said that Jamaica’s post-hurricane recovery compares favourably with other countries impacted by similar storms, adding that the island has achieved approximately 90 per cent electricity restoration island-wide and close to 70 per cent recovery in the worst-affected parishes.
“I think that is a creditable response on the part of the government and on the part of the JPS,” he said, adding that electricity restoration will continue even in remote and rural communities, regardless of cost.
“We are going to be building Jamaica forward, and we are going to be building Jamaica better than it was before.”
In his address, Prime Minister Holness pointed to what he said were two significant national achievements that justify optimism for the year ahead, namely economic performance and a reduction in violent crime.
He cited the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), which recently reported more than 5 per cent growth in the July to September quarter of 2025, noting that this was significant, as historically the country has taken years, or even decades, to recover from major crises.
In 2024, Jamaica was impacted by Hurricane Beryl, which plundered the country’s economic gains, including reversing 12 consecutive quarters of post-pandemic growth.
“What we have seen… is that when super phenomenal events hit us, the ability of the economy to head back to growth within the year of the impact is phenomenal.”
He attributed this turnaround to what he described as increased resilience within the Jamaican economy.
“It is a word called resilience. The Jamaican economy is showing powerful signs of resilience,” Holness said, describing also the significant decline in murders as a historic achievement.
“For the first time in 31 years, the country can collectively celebrate… the reduction of murders,” he said, noting that murders have fallen to 673 for the year, representing a more than 40 per cent decline and the third consecutive year of reductions.
“We have cracked the psychological barrier of a thousand murders per year,” Holness said, adding that Jamaica is now moving toward the regional average of 15 murders per 100,000 people.
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