Jamaica Works to Restore Power Following Unprecedented Blackout

WHO:

ABC News - Jamaica Public Service Company is the national electricity provider in Jamaica.

ABC News - Hugh Grant is the president of Jamaica Public Service Company.

ABC News - Daryl Vaz is the Jamaican Energy Minister.

WHAT:

ABC News - An outage left the entire island of Jamaica without power overnight.

ABC News - The blackout affected all utility customers across Jamaica, which has a population of 2.8 million people.

ABC News - By Saturday morning, power had been restored to roughly 500,000 out of 700,000 customers.

ABC News - Daryl Vaz expected a full restoration of power within hours.

ABC News - Daryl Vaz described the situation as "UNACCEPTABLE."

WHERE:

ABC News - The blackout occurred across the entire island of Jamaica.

WHEN:

ABC News - The outage began just after 9 p.m. on a Friday.

WHY:

ABC News - The causes of the blackout are under investigation, but it is likely related to lightning striking near major substations and other grid infrastructure.

HOW:

ABC News - Jamaica Public Service Company is racing to restore service following the outage.

(UPDATED June 6, 2026 17:19 UTC)

A widespread power outage left the entire island of Jamaica without electricity overnight, affecting all utility customers in a country with a population of 2.8 million. By Saturday morning, power had been restored to about 500,000 out of 700,000 customers, and Energy Minister Daryl Vaz expressed his expectation for full restoration within hours, calling the situation "UNACCEPTABLE." The causes of the blackout are still under investigation, but it is believed to be linked to lightning strikes near major substations and other grid infrastructure.