Vaz says electricity supply 'stable' as storm Melissa nears

Transport and Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says Jamaica’s electricity system remains stable as Tropical Storm Melissa nears.

As of 9 a.m. Saturday, the Jamaica Public Service reported 275 customers without power — 95 in western Jamaica, 40 in central, and 140 in eastern areas. Each outage affects about two customers on average, Vaz said at special news conference.

JPS is the country's main power provider.

Vaz says approximately 550 JPS workers, including local contractors and 71 overseas line workers, are positioned and responding. “We have a stable electricity supply and basically the number of outages on the eve of a storm and hurricane is actually lower than when we are not in this mode,” he said.

The Meteorological Service has forecast that Melissa will strengthen into a major hurricane by Sunday and could make landfall by Tuesday next week.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, the system’s centre was located about 210 kilometres southeast of Morant Point and 260 kilometres southeast of Kingston.

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Jamaica, meaning that within 36 hours or less, residents should expect dangerously high water, strong winds of at least 119 km/h (74 mph), and exceptionally high waves.

The Met Service said Melissa is forecast to move over central Jamaica early next week, producing between 350 and 650 millimetres (15 to 25 inches) of rain, with catastrophic flash floods and landslides likely.

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