Jamaica utilities regulator backs layered disaster financing after hurricane losses

Ansord Hewitt, Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation, is calling for a multi-layered disaster risk financing framework for Jamaica's utility sector.

He told the OUR's 12th annual Director General Stakeholders Engagement on March 19 that restoring electricity, water and telecommunication services after major hurricanes has become enormously expensive. Hurricane Melissa in 2025 alone left losses running into billions of dollars, and Hewitt said providers can no longer depend on improvised funding when systems fail.

Hewitt set out how financing for the sector should be arranged, with room for a safety net or, at minimum, clear routes to extra funding when disasters strike. The OUR backs public-private partnerships to build more resilient infrastructure, study of resilience bonds and concessional climate finance, and incentives for private investment in renewable energy and storage to limit long-term vulnerability.

"We must also confront the reality that global events increasingly shape local utility outcomes," Hewitt said.

After Melissa, the OUR signed off on emergency steps that included US$40.7 million from the Electricity Disaster Fund for Jamaica Public Service Company and J$5 billion in relief for the National Water Commission through draws on the K Factor Fund and a six-month pause on deposits into that fund.

He also stressed financing tools such as public-private partnerships, concessional climate funding, resilience bonds and stronger spending on renewables and storage.