July 24, 2020
JPS is announcing that its Smart LED Streetlight project has now covered two-thirds of the island, with approximately 69,000 streetlights having been converted from High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulbs, to the newer more energy efficient and durable Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. The upgraded LED streetlights not only provide better lighting, but also have smart controllers that enable remote control and monitoring, so that repairs are more efficiently managed.
Repairs
On the matter of general repairs of streetlights, the Company has been working very closely with Councillors in their divisions across the island, to repair malfunctioning streetlights. The objective is to ensure that the rate of repair of defective lights is consistent with international standards. To assist the company in achieving this, any HPS streetlights which are not working are now being replaced by LED lights. Despite the challenges with accessing parts earlier this year, the Company has embarked on an aggressive drive to clear the backlog of approximately 4% non-functioning lights by the end of August.
“JPS teams are fully committed to ensuring that public lighting is functional and serving the purpose for which they are intended. We are focussed more than ever on delivering excellent customer service to our public. Our relationship with Councillors and other stakeholders, and our teams’ high level of responsiveness has helped to create the level of success on this project that we are experiencing” stated JPS Operations Area Manager, (East), Oswald Smiley.
Portmore Milestone
The latest milestone on the Smart LED Streetlight project, is the 99% completion of LED streetlights in the Municipality of Portmore in St. Catherine, reputed to be the largest community in the English speaking Caribbean. The area, which is home to roughly 200,000 residents, has approximately 7,900 streetlights.
JPS teams are also working in the parish, to completely outfit a number of other communities with LED street lights. These include: Linstead, Ewarton, Point Hill, Lluidas Vale, Bog Walk, Sligoville, Troja and Guys Hill. Once the streetlights in St. Catherine, have all been converted to LEDs, JPS crews will move on to complete the installation of LED street lights in the Corporate Area and St. James.
