Director of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Southern Region, Keith Garvey, said St Catherine is costing the light and power company US$20m annually through electricity theft.

Garvey said that the JPS is bleeding bad from the practice.

Garvey was part of a JPS team which removed illegal connections in the Tawes Pen and Ellerslie Pen communities and other areas of Spanish Town in the parish yesterday.

He said the aim is to regulate the communities through dialogue and enforcement. "We are going to continue removing the wires, therefore, we intend for the residents to comply and pay their bills," Garvey said.

electrical inspectors

He told THE WEEKEND STAR that the residents need to get the government-certified electrical inspectors to check their premises, so it can be properly wired for them to get electricity. "We need to have these persons paying for the electricity they use, and we are not targeting any particular area," Garvey said.

Meanwhile, some residents said that they need their elected representatives to come and help them to regularise their power supply.

"We need to have light posts in the area as there are children living in the community and their uniforms must be ironed for school," Oswald Gayle, a Tawes Pen resident, said. Gayle said the area needs to have light to prevent murders and other serious crimes from happening.

"If we tell them fi tek off di connection, dem vex, but mi feel sey everybody must come together and pay," a resident said to the booing from others.

The Government electrical inspector will be brought on board to help regularise the process.

Garvey said the process can be done within five working days. He said this is so as there are already general lines in the area.