JPS says Sandy damage will cost US$7 million

The Jamaica Public Service Company, JPS, says it has already spent US$4 million to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

And JPS vice president for technical services Ricardo Rennalls says it is projected that the entire restoration process will cost over US$7 million.

Speaking at a press conference this morning to update the country on the JPS restoration work, Rennals disclosed that the compaany suffered extensive damage to its distribution system.

He says the JPS lost thousands of electricity poles and 130 transformers, but has already restored over 1,500 poles.

While praising the performance of the company throughout the category 1 hurricane, Rennalls said the JPS is examining some of the failures exposed by Sandy.

Citing one example, he said the JPS was not satisfied with the way some of the newly-installed concrete poles performed during the hurricane.

He said by the end of this month the company will have a full report on the matter.

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