THE recent all-island blackout has reignited public frustration over the reliability and resilience of Jamaica’s electricity system. While the outage disrupted homes and businesses, and the usual Friday weekend festivities, it should also prompt a broader conversation about the future of energy in Jamaica.

Over the years, many commentators, analysts, and international institutions have extensively documented Jamaica’s energy challenges. Rather than rehash those statistics, this article focuses on a different question: How do we strategically move Jamaica’s electricity sector forward?

The preliminary reports suggest that some of the vulnerabilities associated with previous islandwide outages may still exist. If true, the minister, but more importantly everyday individuals, are right to be frustrated and ask the question why such failures remain possible two decades later.