.GIF)
Pickersgill THE PROGRAMME of load-shedding, initiated by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) following the loss of three major generating units, has ended but there are still risks of interruptions, Minister of Mining and Energy, Robert Pickersgill told the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Mr. Pickersgill said that the return to normality was pinned to the return of the Old Harbour Unit Number Three. The unit was returned to service on May 12 and the programme of load-shedding has since come to an end.
"However, let me say that it must be noted that two large units are still off the grid the Old Harbour Unit Number Two and the Jamaica Private Power Company units. Against this background, I wish to emphasise that despite the company's best efforts to maintain full availability on the remaining units during this most difficult period, there is still some risk of service interruptions," he warned.
He said that there will be occasions when units may not be available for short periods, as a result of imperative maintenance activities deemed necessary to ensure the unit's continued availability over the long term. These intermittent interruptions are not expected to go beyond August, when the Old Harbour Unit Number Three is returned to service.
The JPSCo is actively making arrangements for the installation of a 25-megawatt unit in August to deal with the immediate needs of consumers. Another 120 megawatts of generating capacity will be installed between 2002 and 2004, in consultation with the Office of Utilities Regulation(OUR), he said.
On the Rural Electrification Programme (REP), Mr. Pickersgill said that under the Caribbean Development Bank Programme V Phase "C" US$1.823 million of residual funds will be utilised to build 145 kilometres of distribution lines and wire 3,000 houses. Construction will start during the second quarter of the current financial year. It will be completed in 12 months and all 14 parishes will benefit.
Under the Government of Jamaica/Electricity Authority Project an additional 10 kilometres of lines are to be built and approximately 200 houses wired. Parishes to benefit are St. Ann, St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth.
