Investigations by the second team of Canadians looking into the July 15 all-island blackout have revealed that a complete and comprehensive overhaul of the generation, transmission and regulatory regime governing electricity production and distribution may be the solution to the nation's power outages.

The revelation came during a briefing with Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy, and Commerce (MITEC), yesterday.

Lightning caused blackout

Preliminary reports from the first team of Canadians confirmed statements from the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd. that lightning was the cause for the blackout.

However, according to a release from MITEC yesterday, the second team emphasised that, in addition to the forensic investigation being undertaken to determine the immediate cause of the blackout, the regulatory regime that governs the power sector is being carefully examined to determine the extent to which legislation, effective regulation and industry best practices can affect Jamaica's electricity industry.

The Canadians, who are from the firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP and Rusnov & Associates Limited, arrived in the island on August 9 and carried out their investigations up to August 15.

They left the island yesterday but the group is scheduled to return within three weeks to continue investigations.

A preliminary report is to be submitted to Minister Paulwell by October 31 and a final report on November 30.