JAMAICA Public Service Company (JPS) says it has begun a phased infrastructure upgrade in sections of Hope Pastures, St Andrew by replacing the underground distribution system installed in most of the community by private developers over 50 years ago.

According to the energy company, it will be replacing the system with an overhead network at a cost of $40.4 million.

“Transfer to the overhead supply began on Monday, September 30, in the pilot area, Keble Crescent, where customers are now being transferred to the new overhead system,” JPS said in a news release Tuesday.

“Other roads targeted for transfers are Glendon Circle, Seburg Close, Simms Ave, Cousins Close and Hope Boulevard,” the company said, adding that it expects to transfer half of the customers currently on the underground network by the end of 2014.

“This really is the best solution to the long-standing problems with the underground network,” JPS President and CEO Kelly Tomblin said during a tour of the community Tuesday. “We know that for every problem there is a solution, but the journey to the solution sometimes takes a while. In this case, it took several months of discussions and negotiations with the residents of Hope Pastures, but I am very pleased with where we are now.”

The major upgrade, the company said, became necessary despite regular maintenance, as the underground electrical cables and other equipment installed by the private developer have become defective due to ageing, unauthorised digging and faults on the network. Repair activities over the years have also been severely hampered, as identifying faults on the underground system took extended periods of time.

“The underground network has become very challenging to maintain,” Omar Sweeney, JPS director, Region East, explained, emphasising that only those sections of Hope Pastures that had the underground infrastructure (approximately 146 houses) have been targeted for the transfers.

The company said it has been in dialogue with residents for over two years on the impending development and the way forward. “Customers who are being transferred to the overhead system will need to ensure that they have the usual facilities, such as columns, to accommodate the new overhead connection,” JPS said. “Also, where their existing internal wiring does not presently meet Government Electrical Inspector (GEI) standards it must be brought up to par, where necessary, and re-certified by the GEI.”

Sweeney said that to be connected to the grid, customers appreciate that they have to contribute to the modification of the wiring of their own premises. This is applicable to all customers, anywhere, who need to be connected to the JPS system.

To help customers absorb the initial outlay of approximately $35,000 per customer, JPS has entered into a partnership with National Energy Solutions Ltd, formerly Rural Electrification Project, to offer a loan to customers to pay for the modification to their premises. The loans will be repaid over time along with their electricity bills.

Sweeney noted, too, that this was part of a larger project to upgrade the infrastructure in Hope Pastures, including the installation of new streetlights along Hope Boulevard, one of the main thoroughfares in the community.

Project Co-ordinator Lancelot Graham said that most of the residents have been generally co-operative with the change to an overhead system. “Where some were initially resistant, once they got a better understanding of why the change needed to be effected, they have been coming around, indicating their willingness to get on board,” he said.

This was endorsed by Hugh Thompson, president of the Hope Pastures Citizens’ Association. He said that while some people were initially apprehensive about the aesthetics of overhead wires, most have come around to accepting that JPS has in fact come up with the most workable solution to the bigger challenge of their crew being able to reach wires when there were faults on the system.

“The previous underground system had become very unreliable. Even when it rained, there was a big challenge trying to identify the source of the problem that may have caused power cuts,” he said.