KINGSTON, Jamaica — In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s destructive sweep across the island, Jamaica has marked a major milestone in its post-storm recovery: the national utility Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has outperformed its agreed power restoration target for March, bringing the country significantly closer to full grid recovery after the devastating weather event.
Data released by the Ministry of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications confirms that more than 6,000 customers were reconnected to the JPS grid throughout March, beating the initial goal of 5,000 set by the government and utility. As of April 1, 2026, only 3,022 customers across the island remain without power.
This rapid progress builds on gains made in February, when the government had already restored service to 98 percent of the total JPS network, cutting the number of outages from tens of thousands to fewer than 10,000. By the end of that month, 9,135 of the utility’s roughly 690,000 total customers were still waiting for power to be restored.
Ramping up operations through March, crews successfully reconnected 6,113 customers by the start of April – representing 67 percent of all customers who remained without power at the beginning of March. That reduction has left just over 3,000 customers still waiting for service.
The vast majority of remaining outages are now concentrated in the hardest-hit, geographically challenging communities across the island. Roughly 84 percent of all customers still without power are located in the parish of Westmoreland, where extensive damage to critical infrastructure and complicated logistics have slowed recovery work. According to the ministry, current restoration efforts center on highly complex operations: traversing steep, hard-to-access terrain, repairing large-scale damaged infrastructure, and resolving individual barriers to customer connection, such as damaged in-home wiring that prevents safe reconnection.
Portfolio Minister Daryl Vaz emphasized that the steady, accelerated progress is the direct result of intentional government policy and strict accountability measures put in place after the storm. Back in December 2025, the Jamaican government approved a $150 million US loan to speed up restoration work. This move came in response to initial projections from JPS that full grid restoration could stretch all the way into late 2026, or even the first quarter of 2027 – a timeline the administration rejected as unacceptable for Jamaican households.
“That was not acceptable to us,” Vaz stated in an official release Monday. “When we approved the loan in December, it was on the basis that we would achieve full restoration by the end of February. While we reached 98 per cent restoration by that deadline, the Government made it clear that aggressive restoration efforts would continue into March and April to close the remaining gap.”
After meeting the 98 percent benchmark in February, the government and JPS agreed to a specific target of reconnecting 5,000 customers in March – a goal the utility not only met but surpassed by more than 1,000 connections. “That is a strong performance, and JPS deserves commendation. Every target agreed with the Government has been met. That is an extraordinary achievement in a recovery effort of this scale,” Vaz added.
Vaz went on to highlight that without the government’s early intervention and dedicated financing, restoration timelines would have been far longer, leaving thousands of Jamaicans without power for additional months. “The alternative would have resulted in many communities waiting months longer for electricity,” he said, noting that the administration took decisive action to avoid that outcome and speed up relief for all affected residents.
The current phase of work, widely referred to as the “last mile” of restoration, relies on close coordination between local JPS crews, domestic contractors, international line crews brought in to supplement local capacity, and multiple state agencies focused on clearing access routes and removing storm debris.
The Jamaican government has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to reaching near-total restoration as quickly as possible, noting that ongoing work is prioritizing the most technically complex connections. The administration’s goal is to reconnect every customer who can safely receive power as rapidly as possible, even as full infrastructure rebuilding continues across all affected parishes. With steady progress month over month, Jamaica continues to advance toward full recovery from Hurricane Melissa’s impact.