240,000 JPS Customers Without Electricity; No Plan To Shut Down Grid

Approximately 240,000 persons or 35 per cent of Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) customers are currently without electricity as the island begins to experience the worsening effects of hurricane Melissa.

The most heavily impacted parishes are St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Hanover and St James, where an estimated 75 per cent of customers are without power.

Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Minister, Hon. Daryl Vaz Transport, gave the update during a press briefing this morning (October 28) at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in Kingston.

“Several [power] generation units, critical high-voltage substations, transmission and distribution lines across the island has been forced out of service by the hurricane force winds and lightening,” he reported.

The least impacted parishes are St. Thomas, Kingston and St. Andrew and St. Catherine, with less than 10 per cent of customers affected.

Minister Vaz said the JPS has indicated that there is adequate generation online to serve customers. No renewables are available.

He informed that the majority of hospitals continue to be supplied with JPS power, except those in Manchester and St. Elizabeth, such as Black River, Mandeville, and Percy Junor, which are operating on standby generator power.

“There is no plan at this point to shut down the grid. JPS crews continue to respond and restore critical facilities and customers where it is safe to do so,” the Minister said.