Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has dismissed conspiracy theories that have been circulating concerning last Friday night’s all-island power outage. Across social media platforms, it’s stated that the outage was due to the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to Jamaica and a fire at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) headquarters.
According to Vaz – the claims are ludicrous and fake news.
Addressing a press conference with representatives of Jamaica Public Service (JPS), on Saturday, to provide an update on the progress to restore power to the island, Vaz assured citizens that the outage was due to inclement weather which resulted in a system failure.
‘I want to make it very clear at this point that it was a system failure of the JPS, and to make sure that I state clearly that all of the conspiracy theories that have been making the [rounds] are fake news. I will not even repeat some of them because they are so ludicrous. This was a simple, or should I say, a straightforward system breakdown within the JPS apparatus.’
According to JPS CEO Hugh Grant, inclement weather resulted in the loss of five transmission lines emanating from significant substations in the Corporate Area. A cascading effect, he said, further caused a loss of generation across the entire island and resulted in the shutdown of the entire grid.
The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of its class. It is one of the largest warships in the world, known for its nuclear-powered engines and its significant size, spanning 1,092 feet.
According to the US Embassy – and several Jamaican Government officials – the arrival of the vessel highlights the strength of expanded US-Jamaica security cooperation under President Donald Trump, particularly the partnership in maritime security.
It was also explained that the vessel is on its 11th iteration of the Southern Seas tour, which is known for fostering goodwill and strengthening maritime partnerships throughout the region.
However, upon the warship’s arrival last week, many Jamaicans expressed concern about its presence, especially amid highly strained US-Cuba relations following intensified sanction – including a fuel blockade – the US indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, and US officials calling Cuba a failed state.
Jamaicans on social media also claimed that last Friday’s fire at Up Park Camp – the headquarters of the Jamaica Defense Force, was linked to the power outage, another claim that was dismissed by both Vaz and Grant.