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| Installing 7th Transformer |
JPS in a release today, October 5, 2021, says that the company has replaced the 7th transformer on St. Johns Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine, due to illegal connections and theft destroying six transformers since the start of the year. The community has a theft rate of 96%, with 25 out of the 650 residents being legal JPS customers.
Transformers typically have a lifetime of 15 to 20 years, but this community has managed to destroy six of these in nine months, at a cost of J$1.6Million.
JPS has been pulling down throw-ups, conducting meter audits, investigating accounts, installing anti-theft networks and conducting community renewal interventions in several communities in an effort to reduce theft. This scourge requires both government and private support; community upliftment; and consideration of the expansion of the social safety net to include electricity and water services.
JPS says that it is reminding the public that the theft of electricity creates reliability issues, and is a significant safety hazard with a high risk of fire and electrocution to both paying customers and those who are illegally extracting electricity.
Note: I have discovered that oftentimes persons complaint about electricity problems they are aware that persons are stealing their electricity and also that the stealing of electricity in their community is affecting the reliability of their power supply. It is therefore very disingenuous for persons to continue to blame the JPSCo for all of their ills and for our political leaders to wash their hands like Pontius Pilate. If the JPSCo goes bankrupt today Jamaica would be in serious problems. At the same time the rates must be affordable or else dark days are ahead.
Electricity theft is a serious social issue and the governments needs to appoint a national committee to look into the issues and to make suggestion to deal with this challenge.
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That's only one community at 96% theft and getting away with it creates an incentive for paying customers to join the 96% normative behaviour in such communities and if it spreads the country.In such communities those 25 residents are seen as FOOLS,TRAITORS AND INFORMERS AND ARE LIKELY HATED.The cultural impact is a socialization of children into a criminal type behaviour from birth as they don't see better to learn better.The some total of such impact nationally is a population of criminals being bred and nutured.A crime is any behaviour for which you could be fines or imprisoned.That makes most of us criminals a way of life look across the world we allegedly export criminal behaviour even among many seen as "ambassadors" to some unlikely places like Amsterdam and Australia not to mention USA,Canada,UK and Caribbean.The Crime industry in Jamaica is about 7% larger than or equal to the Agricultural industries.We are in a crisis and thieving electricity is but a symptom.Whatsvthe solution before we become the pariah on the planet.How come a 3million population becomes as we speak the the 5th most murderous country on the planet and at one stage we were #1.This is a crisis and we have to solve it via a holistic approach an in the interim I have the SpSaSiSr mass all inclusive approach you build awareness so we can Self police,Self arrest,Self incarcerate and Self rehabilitate because let's face it "THE WHOLE A WI A CRIMINAL" and the police and Justice system alone cannot save the day.Stealing electricity ,murder,extortion,corruption,housebreaking, praedial larceny,scamming,robbery,slackness, nastiness and disorderly conduct are but symptoms of a wider and deeper holistic challenge.Where are our intellectuals have they all become mercenary and dishonest having little or no impact on thought and action.We need everyone on board to BARK DI TRUTE.
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