More load-shedding JAMAICA PUBLIC Service Company (JPSCo) customers will be hit by load-shedding again this week, the result of a shortfall in generating capacity. The company has pointed to an "unexpected loss" of generating capacity at the weekend which will force it to resume its programme of scheduled power cuts for the next three days. One unit at its Old Harbour Plant was taken off-line following problems that developed in its boiler system. The situation was compounded further by the withdrawal from service of a second unit for maintenance by independent supplier, Jamaica Private Power Company. Both units are expected to be returned to service by the end of the week. In order to cope with the shortfall, JPSCo will resort to load-shedding between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. daily. JPSCo customers have already had to deal with several months of load-shedding this year. Between February and May, the company was forced to institute both scheduled and unscheduled power outages as it struggled to come to terms with the loss of some of its biggest generating units. Some, including the 65 megawatt No. 3 unit at Old Harbour had to be taken out of service for repairs. The company, through its new owners, Atlanta-based Mirant Corporation is currently installing a 25-megawatt capacity plant at its Bogue facility in Montego Bay, St. James. Work on the US$15 million plant should be completed in time to meet the August peak demand period.
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