No pay, no power? not so! Gov’t, JPS crack down on electricity scam

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and the Government have launched a zero-tolerance crackdown after reports that bogus workers are demanding cash from storm-battered residents to reconnect electricity in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

Residents from various communities in the hard-hit parish of Westmoreland have reported that persons claiming to be JPS contractors have approached them, requesting payments to restore electricity.

JPS President and CEO Hugh Grant has said the company has made it clear that no payment should be required for reconnections.

"We here at JPS, we have zero tolerance for that type of behaviour. No one should be charging anyone, not even a dollar, to be reconnected," Grant told The Star during a tour examining restoration efforts at the power company's Incident Command Centre in Westmoreland.

He explained that investigations are often hampered by residents' reluctance to formally report incidents.

"The challenge is, every time we get a report and we try to have a lead so that we can have some level of accountability, folks are hesitant in making those necessary reports," Grant said.

In response, JPS said it has intensified public education and enforcement efforts, working closely with community leaders and law enforcement.

"We have spoken with councillors, mobilised town criers in the area to inform people that they should not be paying to receive power, sent out text messages to our customers, and mobilised our own internal security folks to do some undercover operations to put a stop to this travesty," he said.

Grant described the reports as particularly troubling given the hardships residents are already facing.

"It breaks my heart every time I hear that, whereby during these times of disaster, folks are looking to take advantage of people. And we need to put a stop to it right now, and we're committed to doing all that we can with the local law enforcement to put a stop to it."

Meanwhile, JPS Director of Communications Winsome Callum said the company has established a WhatsApp line to allow residents to submit photos and information anonymously.

"We have not been getting a lot of reports that we can work on, that we can act on, so we are appealing and repeating our appeal to persons to use this WhatsApp number," Callum said.

Despite the challenges, she confirmed enforcement action has already been taken. "We have had one arrest since Melissa that I am aware of... where persons were illegally connecting and asking for money."

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, said the Government fully supports JPS's position.

"Zero tolerance," Vaz told The STAR during the tour.

He warned that illegal connections are not only exploitative but also disrupt restored electricity supply in some communities.

"There have been reports where communities that have gotten back light have had their lights interfered with because of illegal connections," he said.

The practice of "throwing up" involves illegally attaching wires to JPS power lines to access electricity without authorization, often overloading the system and causing outages.

"I've said to JPS, zero tolerance, because persons who have been without light, who pay their light bill, must get back light in the shortest possible time and nothing must go in the way of that," he said, adding that illegal connections are contributing to new outages.

Vaz also stressed that residents whose homes were damaged during the hurricane have no reason to resort to illegal connections.

"We are in communities doing rewiring of houses... free of cost. So there should be no reason why people will want to do throw-ups now rather than formalise themselves when it is of no cost to them," he said.

JPS customers who are approached for payment for electricity reconnections are encouraged to report it via SMS or WhatsApp to 876-499-2061, including, if possible, a photo of the individual or vehicle and the licence plate number. Reports can also be made at the nearest police station.

- Mickalia Kington