Ageing Technology Fuels Electricity Demand Concerns In Dominica

• Concern is growing from residents and officials alike, that Dominica is facing a mounting energy crisis. The island nation’s ageing power plants, once the backbone of its electricity supply, are now grappling to keep pace with the surging demand for energy.
• This was disclosed at the press conference of Dominica Electricity Services Ltd (DOMLEC), with one of its top officials calling the situation to be “insufficient generation capacity.”
• “We have been seeing in 2023 increased consumption, what you call increased load, so our peak so far for the year is 17.62 megawatts,” DOMLEC Manager Bertilia McKenzie explained. She went on to highlight the contrast with 2021 when the peak was 16.38 megawatts, representing a significant increase of over 1 megawatt in customer consumption in 2023 compared to two years prior. In 2022, the peak was also high at 16.35 megawatts.
• McKenzie emphasized that not only are Dominicans consuming more power in 2023, but DOMLEC is also grappling with the challenge of ageing machinery.
• To promptly tackle the emergency, DOMLEC is leasing two megawatts of temporary generation from an outside source. McKenzie also stressed the need for additional generation, citing Dominica’s first geothermal plant that will be commissioned “in a few years.”
• The construction of the plant, which is expected to generate 10,000 kilowatts, is ongoing with transmission networks currently being set up as the next phase of the project.

(Source: Caribbean News Now)