Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says he received a request for force majueure from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), in anticipation of a catastrophe from the impending Hurricane Melissa.

Vaz, at a press conference held at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) on Sunday afternoon (October 26), said he received the request on his way to the event.

“I can say that between when I went to JPS earlier this morning, and coming here, I have now received the request for force majeure from JPS officially and for those who may not understand force majeure, let me just say, it is a contract clause that relieves a party from fulfilling their obligations when extraordinary event beyond their control, such as natural disaster makes performance impossible,” Vaz explained.

“So, in essence, the licence has certain conditionalities and in order for them to be relaxed, in order for them to respond, they require the Government of Jamaica, [which granted] them the licence in the first place, to sign a force majeure,” he said.

Vaz said it has already been referred to the Attorney General’s chambers, and he is prepared to sign as early as possible, even prior to the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

This force majeure request means that JPS will not be able to fulfil the requirements of its licence if its electricity grid is severely impacted by the coming hurricane.