Just over two weeks after the passage of Hurricane Dean, the island's major light and power provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. (JPS), says it has restored electricity service to roughly 546,000 or 96 per cent of its clientele.

According to the JPS, the majority of customers who are still without power supply are in the parishes of St. Thomas, Manchester and Clarendon, where the company's restoration efforts are being affected by difficult terrain and extensive damage to its power delivery system.

Efforts hampered

The light and power company also said its restoration efforts have been frustrated in some communities by the theft of sections of power lines and by attempts by members of the public to illegally reconnect the power supply. In a release yesterday, the JPS warned that the unauthorised reconnection of electricity puts both life and property at risk.

The company, however, said it "continues to make every effort to restore supply to everyone as quickly as possible, but reminds customers that the process must be done in a structured and systematic manner in order to ensure the safety of all".

The JPS added: "Among the critical steps in the process are the detailed checking of power lines and equipment, and appropriate instructions to the work crews before the lines are energised."

The light and power company still maintains that there will be full restoration of power by Sunday, September 9.