Opposition lawmakers questioned the Government on Tuesday about key details of the US$150 million loan approved for the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to restore power by February 2026. With hurricane damage estimated at US$350 million, they pressed Energy Minister Daryl Vaz to explain where the remaining US$200 million would come from and why the interest rate had not been agreed upon before lending. They also challenged the administration’s plan to acquire JPS assets if the loan is not repaid, asking whether the Government knows the company’s actual asset value.

February deadline to restore power islandwide

Jamaica Gleaner/26 Nov 2025/Edmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter 

THE CABINET has approved a US$150 million loan to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to facilitate the restoration of power to all customers of the light and power company by the latest February 2026.

However, with the JPS indicating that damage to its infrastructure caused by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa amounted to US$350 million, some members of the parliamentary Opposition on Tuesday pressed the portfolio minister in Parliament to divulge where the company would be getting the balance of US$200 million.

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz did not provide a response on the source of the additional funding but gave the assurance that the US$150 million would be able to cover the restoration works in the time specified by the JPS.

When asked by Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson what was the interest rate being applied to the loan, Vaz indicated that the Ministry of Finance and the JPS would meet today to negotiate that aspect of the agreement.

In a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, Vaz said the loan would allow the JPS to add 300 line workers from overseas with specialised trucks and tools to complete the job by the February 2026 deadline.

He said the sum being lent to the JPS is not at risk as the Government has entered an agreement with the company to safeguard taxpayers’ money.

Discussing the terms of the loan, Vaz said in the first scenario, the sum is being loaned for five years and the company has the option to repay the sum by 2027, the same timeline in which the JPS’S licence expires.

The energy minister said the Government has signalled to the JPS that it will, in a matter of days, be ready to start negotiations for a new licence.

However, Vaz said if the negotiation is not concluded by the July 2027 deadline, then the Government would make arrangements to acquire the assets of the JPS. In that regard, he said the US$150 million owed to the Government would be taken out of any disbursement.

“So let me make it very clear that the taxpayers of Jamaica are at no risk,”he emphasised.

Opposition Spokesman on Energy Phillip Paulwell questioned how the Government was lending money without the interest rate being agreed on at the outset.

With the Government signalling that it would acquire the assets of the JPS if it failed to repay the loan within the stipulated timeline, Paulwell wanted to know if the administration was aware of the value of the JPS assets.

Vaz did not respond.

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