LITTLE LONDON — Still without power almost two weeks after Hurricane Beryl knocked out electricity in some sections of the country, frustration has turned to anger being played out in pockets of protest by residents who have had enough. There were three in Westmoreland on Tuesday, two of them fiery.

The complaints are similar: nearby areas have power, so why don’t they; unscrupulous individuals are charging them to restore the electricity supply and life is a miserable blend of heat, mosquitoes and just general discomfort. From as early as 5:00 am Tuesday residents of Sheffield blocked the community’s main road, leaving hotel employees and others trying to make their way to work stranded.

“We waah light,” demanded Shawn Wright, who vowed the blockage would be remounted as soon as it was cleared by the police.  She told the Jamaica Observer that the heat and mosquitos had become unbearable.  “How comes some people get back light and we cyaan get back none?” Wright queried.

The same question was asked during the first fiery protest in Little London which began shortly after noon. Tempers flared along with debris placed on the road and set ablaze. Residents used fallen utility poles, trees, old appliances and other items to block the intersection that connects Grant Bush and Little London. Those gathered said they were protesting the lack of electricity within several communities including Grant Bush and Ebenezer.  As firefighters fought to extinguish that blaze and clear the blockage, they were alerted to another fiery roadblock less than 1,000 feet away in Ebenezer. That fire reportedly started shortly before 1:00 pm.

According to a resident who gave his name as “Code One”, they understand that service was disrupted because of the hurricane but they took to the streets because they think they are being ignored. He pointed out that electricity had been restored to surrounding communities but Grant Bush was still in darkness at night. In his view, he could see no major damage to infrastructure that would cause a delay in service being provided to his community.

“Wi nuh have nuh bruk post, wi nuh have nuh tree inna road; every post and line good. Cottage has light, Johnson Bush has light. Inna London town has light and all now wi nuh have no light! How come Grant Bush nuh have no light?” he raged. The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has repeatedly explained that service disruption may be caused by damage that is not immediately apparent to the untrained eye. It has also provided steady updates on the progress being made along with warnings not to be tricked into paying to have power restored.

On Tuesday, some protesters alleged that money is changing hands and communities that pay have had their electricity restored. A day earlier, JPS issued a press release highlighting a report from the Westmoreland police that they had arrested a man who had been caught soliciting payment from residents and promising to have their power restored. The utility company said the man was neither a JPS worker nor contractor. Repeating appeals first made two days after Hurricane Beryl, the company then reminded the public that legitimate JPS workers will have photo ID on their person and no JPS employee will be soliciting payment to have electricity reconnected.

On Wednesday, Code One complained that even though representatives from the JPS visited and conducted an assessment of the area two to three days ago, that has not translated into visible progress in getting power back on in his community. He estimated that he has been spending approximately $5,000 daily to purchase gasoline for his generator. (Jamaicaobserver)…[+]