Over 2000 JPS customers in St. Elizabeth getting electricity from Maggotty Island Hydro-Power Plant

About 2000 Jamaica Public Service (JPS) customers in St. Elizabeth are being provided with electricity from the Maggotty Island Hydro-Power Plant.

The facility is being used to supply customers who would otherwise have remained without power for several months while severely damaged transmission lines that traverse challenging mountainous terrain are rebuilt.

This in the wake of hurricane Melissa which caused extensive damage to the JPS network.

The JPS explained that under normal circumstances, damage to the transmission network would prevent power generated at the hydro plant from reaching customers. 

However, a solution conceptualised and developed by JPS team members allows electricity from the renewable hydro plant to be fed directly into parts of the distribution network that are isolated from the rest of the grid.  

JPS President and CEO, Hugh Grant said Maggotty Island is an example of the JPS team’s ingenuity and determination to find solutions, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Grant further indicated that this innovation was an important factor in enabling JPS to have 90% of its customers now with electricity. 

Speaking on the renewable nature of the Maggotty Plant, which generates electricity using the Maggotty river, the JPS CEO explained that these plants do not experience the type of intermittency seen with solar and wind systems, referring to the hydro-electric plant as ‘firm renewable.’  

This hydroelectric power plant generates up to 12 megawatts of power and is one of six hydropower plants operated by JPS.

The “Maggotty Island” was launched on Tuesday, December 30, bringing electricity to several communities, including the Maggotty town and several critical facilities, among them, the National Water Commission (NWC) pump at Maggotty, the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) pump, telecommunication sites at Hounslow and the Lacovia police station.

Another JPS innovation, the Emergency Mobile Power Generation Unit is currently supplying electricity to just under 1000 customers in Treasure Beach and surrounding communities.

These solutions form part of a broader restoration and resilience strategy, aimed at supporting communities while permanent repairs are underway.

JPS customers are being assured that the company will continue to work assiduously into the new year, to energize those persons still waiting on supply.