FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has responded to growing public frustration over dangling cables remaining on utility poles following Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, clarifying that electrical restoration takes precedence over immediate aesthetic concerns.
Corporate Communications Director Winsome Callum explained the company’s structured recovery approach involves distinct phases. The initial critical phase focuses exclusively on re-energizing communities and ensuring public safety, while comprehensive cable removal constitutes a secondary clean-up operation scheduled after power normalization.
“Our absolute priority remains restoring electricity to affected customers,” Callum stated. “These dangling cables will definitely be removed during the second wave—this isn’t a permanent situation. We deploy all available resources initially for power restoration, followed by systematic clean-up operations.”
The communications director emphasized safety protocols, noting all hanging cables have been de-energized and repositioned where possible to eliminate hazards during continuing restoration efforts.
Complicating the clean-up process, many suspended cables belong not to JPS but to telecommunications providers operating under joint pole agreements. Callum clarified regulatory constraints prevent unilateral removal of partner companies’ infrastructure without coordinated planning.
“We maintain collaborative relationships with partner utilities and coordinate removals through mutual communication,” Callum explained. “We’re not authorized to independently remove other providers’ installations.”
While major cable companies remained unavailable for comment, an anonymous community cable operator revealed smaller providers received explicit timelines from JPS regarding clean-up schedules in specific regions. The operator confirmed compliance with directives to remove equipment preemptively to avoid irreversible removal by JPS crews during pole maintenance operations.
The operator suggested remaining dangling cables likely belong to larger telecommunications providers who may not have adhered to the coordinated removal schedule, particularly evident in areas like Falmouth where loose wires remain visibly suspended from utility poles.