BVIEC Joins Regional Restoration In Jamaica
The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation has joined regional electric utilities deploying crews and resources to Jamaica following Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. Coordinated through CARILEC's Disaster Assistance Programme, more than 130 line workers from across the Caribbean are helping rebuild the island's damaged electrical grid.
The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) is among 17 regional utilities and two private contracting firms deploying manpower and vital resources to Jamaica following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa. The deployment is coordinated under the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) Disaster Assistance Programme (CDAP), in partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UKFCDO).
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28 as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the region, striking as a Category 5 hurricane. The destructive winds left more than 70 percent of the island's electricity customers without power and caused severe damage across Jamaica Public Service (JPS) transmission and distribution networks.
According to an update from JPS, power has since been restored to 64 percent of customers, alongside 81 percent of major healthcare facilities, 58 percent of National Water Commission critical locations, and 56 percent of key telecommunication sites. To date, 131 skilled line workers have arrived on the island, with additional technical personnel scheduled to land in the coming days.
Alongside the BVIEC, deploying crews include personnel from utilities in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Nevis, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, along with private contractors from Saint Lucia.
Cletus Bertin expressed gratitude to participating members who answered the call for mutual aid. He noted that CDAP is built on regional collaboration, allowing impacted utilities to tap into shared funds, technical expertise, and rapid manpower deployments to rebuild essential infrastructure after severe natural disasters.
Primary source: VINO