Vaz disappointed as JPS preliminary blackout report points to grid failure

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says preliminary information from the Jamaica Public Service, JPS, indicates that the recent islandwide blackout stemmed from a failure in Jamaica's electricity system, a finding he described as deeply frustrating.

Vaz said similar failures have been linked to major power cuts dating back to 2006, and argued that the country should not still be facing the same weakness in 2026. Jamaicans have been pressing for explanations, while the parliamentary opposition has also called for accountability following the outage.

The minister said the report has strengthened his view that an independent consultant should examine the full findings once they are submitted at the end of the 30-day review period. He said that process should be done alongside the OUR. Vaz also complained that earlier recommendations from the regulator have not produced the changes needed, whether in relation to system maintenance or the technology being used.

"What I can say is that enough is enough," Vaz said, adding that Jamaica must have an electricity grid with modern safeguards capable of preventing failures that have affected the country for more than a decade, and, by his count, close to 20 years.

While technical teams continue assessing JPS' preliminary report, business interests are also watching the issue. State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Delano Seiveright said in a release on Tuesday that the outage did interrupt some commercial activity.

Seiveright said larger companies, including manufacturers, hotels, BPO operators and other critical facilities, were able to move to backup power, which helped reduce the fallout. He also said the timing of the outage, late in the evening and after normal operating hours for many businesses, helped limit wider economic damage. Still, he said an outage on that scale remains serious, and the ministry continues to engage key stakeholders in the productive sectors.