Hanwell’s Holland Power Services has been assisting in Jamaica since Hurricane Melissa devastated the island on October 28, 2025.
The Category 5 storm was not only the strongest ever to hit the country, but also the third most intense hurricane in the Atlantic, causing over $ 10 billion in damage.
Since then, it has been a continuous effort to rebuild Jamaica’s complete access to power and water. Amongst those on the island restoring necessities are 80 New Brunswickers who work for Holland Power Services.
In fact, President Steven Hansen just returned to New Brunswick after spending some time in the Caribbean overseeing the process.
“I’ve always liked to get out and spend time with both the clients that we have and, of course, the workers in the field,” Hansen explained. He plans to travel back to Jamaica at the beginning of February.
The aid that Holland Power Services has been providing to the island was not a last-minute decision. Following Hurricane Beryl, which damaged the island in 2024, the company and Jamaica formed a relationship to ensure that there was an increased number of line workers available in the event of another emergency.
“When [Jamaica] got hit quite severely by Hurricane Melissa, they already had an established relationship with us, so we started having conversations about when we would be able to get down to help, and we just moved from there.”
Nick Gilbert, worker from Fredericton, posing with Jamaican students (Submitted: Steven Hansen)
Nick Gilbert has been with Holland Power Services since 2017 and is a Red Seal tradesman. He is one of many workers on the island who will be cycled in and out every three to four weeks until the job is completed.
This is not the first time that Holland Power has helped in this part of the world, as the utility company responded to the Grand Bahamas back in 2018.
“We’re not a stranger to working in that environment – we would like to establish relationships with any of the other Caribbean nations,” said Hansen, “we’re more than prepared to satisfy the needs of all our customers here in New Brunswick and other locations.”
