OUR Names Review Team For JPS Islandwide Blackout Probe

The Office of Utilities Regulation has put a dedicated internal group in place to manage its regulatory handling of the recent islandwide power outage after examining an initial report from the Jamaica Public Service Company.

The OUR said the team will guide JPS on the next steps, prepare the groundwork for a full review of the shutdown, and study the power company’s final submission once it is delivered. That assessment will look at whether the report stands up to scrutiny, whether JPS’s proposals are relevant, and what actions the utility plans to take.

The regulator said the group may also advise on what support the OUR will need to properly examine the blackout, including whether outside specialists should be brought in. The team is also expected to put forward its own recommendations and point to any regulatory responses that may be required.

The OUR cautioned that the preliminary document is not enough to support findings or enforcement at this point, saying it gives only a narrow early view of what may have caused the power failure.

"The preliminary report, however, is a helpful signpost to alert the OUR to immediate post-restoration concerns, and to enable the regulator to give further directions to JPS as to the expected scope and the critical inputs that must be addressed in JPS's investigation and reflected in the final detailed report, which is due within thirty (30) days of the full restoration of electricity," said OUR Director-General Ansord E. Hewitt.

According to the regulator, the internal team will be central to making sure the incident is examined fully and that steps to improve the dependability of the electricity system are identified where needed.

In its early report, JPS said its immediate checks on the outage, along with the operating measures taken after electricity was restored, did not show any urgent or continuing concern about grid stability.

The company said the blackout came after several faults hit key transmission assets in the Corporate Area while heavy rain and lightning were affecting the area.

JPS also reported that its early enquiries suggest there may have been a misoperation of the main protection arrangement linked to the Hunts Bay-Rockfort 69kV transmission line.

The utility said those issues together produced extended fault conditions, which set off a chain of generator trips and eventually led to instability across the system and a total collapse of the electricity network.

JPS is due to submit its final report within 30 days of full electricity restoration. The OUR said that document will guide its more detailed review of the blackout and any regulatory steps that may follow.