Three months later, Darliston sees the light
JPS thinks outside the grid with first-of-its-kind mobile power unit in Jamaica
Published:Tuesday | January 27, 2026 | 12:11 AMMickalia Kington/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Nearly three months after Hurricane Melissa tore through western Jamaica, the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), in partnership with the Government, commissioned an emergency mobile power-generating unit in Darliston, Westmoreland, on Sunday, marking a critical step in restoring electricity to some of the hardest-hit areas.
Addressing residents gathered at the Darliston Primary School, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz recalled visiting the area just weeks after the hurricane with JPS President Hugh Grant, when traditional restoration methods were deemed unworkable due to the scale of damage.
“He (Grant) told me that it would not be possible to get light from the main thoroughfare coming from Whitehouse, passing through to Ferris, and coming up because of the level of damage that was done,” Vaz said. “And that even with the line workers that are here, it would have taken months.”
Grant, however, assured Vaz that he had a solution.
That solution is the emergency mobile power unit now commissioned.
“I’m so happy that, once again, JPS has given a commitment and lived up to the commitment ... . Every commitment that JPS has given me as minister, they have delivered on. They have missed not one,” he said. “As a matter of fact, if I’m to be honest, they have hopped ahead of time in many of them.”
Speaking earlier, Grant re-emphasised that eastern Westmoreland requires a complete rethink of how power would be restored.
DELIBERATE CHOICE
Rather than leaving communities waiting for full reconstruction, JPS opted for an innovative interim solution.
“We made a deliberate choice to provide temporary solutions safely while the rebuilding progressed,” he said.
He explained that the mobile power-generating unit is the first of its kind to be deployed in Jamaica.
Darliston was selected based on its distance from normal power sources and the presence of critical facilities.
“Locating this emergency mobile power-generating unit here in Darliston Primary School was a deliberate and collaborative decision,” Grant said. “The emergency power solution was essential to kick-start economic and social activity in Darliston and some surrounding areas.”
The unit will restore electricity to essential services, including the health centre, police station, tax office, schools, the town square, and eventually surrounding communities.
Vaz stressed that the Government has taken a “whole-of-government approach” to recovery, particularly for residents whose homes were too damaged to safely reconnect to the grid.
Grant noted significant progress in national restoration figures despite the challenges.
“It is through these critical partnerships that today I can announce that 94 per cent of our customers now have supply,” he said. “That means that less than 38,000 of our near 700,000 customers remain without supply.”
However, in Westmoreland and neighbouring parishes, restoration continues.
“More than 60 per cent of customers in Westmoreland now have supply,” Grant said. “And more than 60 per cent of customers in St Elizabeth also now have supply. This difficult last-mile phase of restoration is a phase in which we are doing a lot more work for a lot [fewer] customers to be restored,” Grant said.
NOT ENOUGH
Vaz also said that percentages alone are not enough.
“The restoration percentage don’t matter to me ... . I want to know how many people still don’t have light, where they don’t have light, and when are they going to get light.”
He continued: “Ninety-six per cent by next week still does not do the job because there’s four per cent, which represent thousands of persons, who still will not have light. Until we reach 100 per cent, where there’s nobody else without light, we have not completed the job.”
Grant said that many of the remaining customers cannot yet be reconnected due to damage to their homes.
“Approximately 20,000 of the customers awaiting restoration are not yet able to receive service,” he said. “That is why JSIF (Jamaica Social Investment Fund) was in Darliston a few days ago to provide support for persons who need assistance with rewiring their homes.”
Looking ahead, JPS has plans to deploy another mobile unit in Bethel Town, Westmorland, by the end of the first week in February, which Grant says will provide power to approximately 600 customers.