Jamaica experiencing island-wide blackout

MEXICO CITY -- An island-wide power blackout hit Jamaica on Friday evening following a system failure, according to the country's officials and power utility.

"Island-wide blackout," Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz said in a post on X, adding that he was awaiting an update from the president of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company, who was en route to the utility's emergency center.

Local media reported outages across several parishes, affecting the electricity supply in multiple areas.

Shortly after Vaz's post, JPS said it was taking steps to restore power to customers "in a phased and pre-determined manner."

JPS did not immediately provide further details on the cause of the failure or a timeline for full restoration.