A preliminary report conducted by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has placed responsibility for last month's islandwide blackout squarely at the feet of the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS).

Investigations carried out by a panel selected by the OUR have found that inadequate maintenance on the part of the light and power company was the main contributing factor in the January 9 outage.

The JPS has accepted blame for last month's outage, admitting that proper upkeep of some aspects of its transmission system was not exercised.

"JPS investigations revealed that there was negligence on the part of some employees with regard to following the established maintenance procedures," Winsome Callum, head of communications at the JPS told The Gleaner yesterday.

Vice-president steps down

One week following the blackout, vice-president of power delivery services at the JPS, Harold Nembhard, stepped down from his position. Nembhard, who had been at the JPS for about 30 years, was vice-president for power delivery services, with overall responsibility for the transmission network.

Yesterday, the company said it was still working to implement most of the recommendations made by the OUR, a year ago, by March 31.

Callum also said two of the critical circuit breakers at the Tredegar substation for the Tredegar/ Duhaney transmission line have been replaced. The other 25 circuit breakers, she said, will be replaced by June 2008, at a cost of approximately US$4 million.

The OUR has also ordered a full audit of the JPS' maintenance practices for its transmission and distribution facilities.

No inspection

According to the OUR's report, the transmission line which triggered the January 9 blackout had not been inspected at ground level for over five years.

The report further said aerial inspections conducted in 2005 showed that several poles were standing in a large lake of water. This, the OUR said, "should have raised concerns about the security of the foundations".

It also noted that five days before the islandwide shutdown, a fault developed on the same Tredegar/Duhaney line. On that occasion, however, service to customers was not interrupted. The OUR, however, said this should have been a sign to the JPS that urgent inspection of its system was needed.

The regulatory body also said it continues to stand by its previous decision to place the JPS under increased scrutiny.