OUR orders tougher utility storm plans as Melissa repairs continue

Jamaica is starting another Atlantic hurricane season while sections of the utility industry are still repairing damage left by Hurricane Melissa, and the Office of Utilities Regulation says providers must now strengthen their emergency readiness and financial protection.

The OUR’s caution comes seven months after Melissa tore into electricity and telecommunications systems across the island, cutting power and communications for hundreds of thousands of customers and forcing one of the biggest restoration drives seen in recent years.

“I am mindful that the 2026 hurricane season will see a utility sector that has not yet fully recovered from Hurricane Melissa,” OUR Director General Ansord Hewitt said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

According to the regulator, utility operators have been instructed to file revised continuity and storm-recovery plans showing how essential services would be kept going, and how normal operations would be restored, if another major system affects Jamaica.

The requirement points to concern that a powerful storm could arrive before all Melissa-related rebuilding and resilience work is finished.

Melissa’s impact also showed that the problem was not limited to broken infrastructure. It underlined the heavy cost of getting vital services back after a disaster.

Jamaica Public Service Company, the sole distributor of electricity in the island, obtained a US$150-million loan backed by the Government after Melissa. The financing was used to speed up repairs and bring in overseas work crews and specialised equipment to rebuild parts of the grid.

The hurricane also drew heavily on the Electricity Disaster Fund, which was created to support restoration work after major hurricanes.

In another ruling issued before the hurricane season opened, the OUR approved a fresh disaster insurance programme for JPS, giving the company access to as much as US$106.6 million in quick financing after a serious storm.

That cover is parametric insurance, meaning payments are released when agreed storm conditions are triggered, instead of waiting on the usual claims process. The OUR said the policy would work alongside the Electricity Disaster Fund and improve the sector’s ability to handle more expensive weather-related shocks.

Although service has been returned to most customers for some time, repair work has not been completed everywhere. In April, Opposition Spokesman on Energy and Telecommunications Phillip Paulwell said some homes and businesses in Westmoreland and other areas were still waiting for electricity months after the hurricane.

The OUR said utilities now have to prove they can manage a major disaster in the field, while also showing that enough money is available to pay for recovery. The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on November 30, with forecasters expecting another active period for the region.