Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist Dr. Barbara Carby - Gleaner file photo
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Dr. Barbara Carby
By Halshane Burke
Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist Dr. Barbara Carby has come out in support of having the distribution lines for electricity run underground.
Since the passage of Hurricane Beryl there have been calls in some quarters for consideration to be given to having the distribution lines run underground given the vulnerability to heavy winds.
Large sections of the south coast lost electricity as a result of the passage of Beryl due to wind damage to the infrastructure of the Jamaica Public Service Company.
Hope Pastures in St. Andrew currently benefits from underground lines, however, the JPS is seeking to have the lines run above ground for better maintenance.
Still, Dr. Carby says not all areas of the country would be able to accommodate the underground cables.
"I think it would be the optimum situation depending on the location, because remember now that we have many unstable slopes in Jamaica which are highly landslide prone and we have areas very prone to flooding. So a proper study would have to be done to see the potential impacts on the underground tables that you might want to run," she suggested.
"I suspect it may all come down to economics, and that is something that the government and the Jamaica Public Service would have to sit down and look at very carefully," added Dr. Carby.
She was speaking Monday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.
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