Vaz calls June 5 islandwide blackout unacceptable as JIS magazine spotlights vaping and mining updates

Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz says the June 5, 2026 islandwide blackout was unacceptable and has promised further scrutiny of reports on the failure, which began during heavy rain and lightning and affected the national grid.

In a JIS interview, Vaz said the preliminary report pointed to transmission-line losses and a possible protection-system failure linked to the Hunts Bay-Rockfort line. He said safeguards should have kept the problem contained in Kingston instead of allowing it to spread across the grid and shut down generation, including independent power suppliers.

Vaz said Jamaica had gone 10 years without an all-island blackout, after the previous one in 2016, but argued that modern grid systems should prevent a local fault from becoming a national outage in normal weather. He said he would seek an independent review of the JPS and Office of Utilities Regulation reports to identify any gaps.

Power began returning in sections from Friday night into Saturday morning, but Vaz said the incident caused reputational damage, inconvenience and financial losses. He said JPS is not legally bound under its current licence to compensate customers, but argued that the company should consider losses suffered by households and businesses. He also said the next electricity licence, due in 2027, and planned changes to the Electricity Act and OUR Act should include stronger compensation and accountability provisions.

The programme also examined concerns about vaping and other nicotine products among young people. At Christiana High School in Manchester, students took part in a health-focused event where school and drug-abuse-prevention officials warned that flavoured products and social-media marketing are helping to make vaping appear safer than cigarettes. Health advocates stressed that nicotine can affect adolescent brain development and increase addiction risk.

A separate mining-sector update said the industry accounts for 85 per cent of Jamaica’s traditional exports. Reported investments included US$29 million by Windalco on a haulage road in St Ann, US$45 million this year by Discovery Bauxite for roads, maintenance and heavy equipment, and about US$80 million by Century Aluminum at the Jamalco refinery. Government also outlined spending under the Bauxite Community Development Programme, including support for education, healthcare, water infrastructure, an agro park in St Ann, and expanded scholarships for students in bauxite communities.