Energy Minister Fayval Williams Says She Has Not Neglected Her Constituency

The president of the Hope Pastures Citizens Association, Michael Williams, refers to a long-standing dispute between the community and the jamaica public service (JPS).
The dispute was taken to court by the residents in 2016 in an attempt to prevent the utility company from installing overhead electricity cables.
JPS says the underground system has become obsolete and would cost close to $41 million to upgrade, at the expense of the residents.
The Member of Parliament for St. Andrew Eastern, who is also Energy Minister, Fayval Williams says she has been well aware of the issue and it is not true that she has neglected them.
She says if legal documentation states the utility company is responsible for maintaining the underground system at its expense then she will be in agreement, adding that the residents did the right thing in taking the matter to court.
She adds that removing the wires from overhead will be more aesthetically pleasing.

However, this isn’t something she can mandate of the utility company as it operates in a regulated environment, she says.
Williams notes, if this desired by the country because of issues with resilience, then it will have to be taken to Cabinet.

Nonetheless, she says the power company and the hope pastures community must respect the court’s ruling.