Minister Vaz Assures Stable Electricity Supply as Hurricane Melissa Approaches

As Hurricane Melissa edges closer to the island, Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, has assured that Jamaica’s electricity system remains stable.

“There are no major incidents currently on the electricity system. As of right now, we have a stable electricity supply,” he said during a special press briefing on preparations for Hurricane Melissa at Jamaica House on Saturday (October 25).

As at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported that approximately 275 customers were without electricity. They include 95 in western Jamaica, 40 in central Jamaica, and 140 in eastern Jamaica.

“The major cause of outages are trees on lines due to the high soil saturation levels… and JPS has been responding accordingly. There are no widespread outages at this time. The number of outages, as we speak, on the eve of the hurricane is actually lower than when we’re not in this mode,” Mr. Vaz indicated.

He noted that approximately 550 personnel are currently positioned and responding, including JPS employees, local contractors, and overseas line workers. Minister Vaz further indicated that 71 overseas line workers are already on the island to support restoration efforts.

Jamaica remains under a Hurricane Warning as Hurricane Melissa inches closer to the island. The system is forecast to make landfall as a Category Four hurricane.