edh - Haiti Observer Blog

Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has okayed a new payment program for electricity usage in Haiti. It is a pay-as-you-go plan Electricite d' Haiti (EdH) will implement under the go-ahead from newly- installed EdH Director, Jean Morose.

As it stands now, most residents of Haiti do not pay for electricity. They cheat the system by getting on the power grid hooked up to local businesses. Businesses get reduced service as a result, and only make partial payments. With this new system, Electricite d'Haiti (EdH) customers will purchase a pre-paid card, inputting with what frequency they want to pay, and how much they want to pay before they receive electricity service.

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Former President René Préval's dealings with the United States began with great promise. He had made the US one of his first visits after winning the 2006 elections, and was quickly congratulated by President George Bush upon his reelection. In the States, the presidential meeting was thought to be fortuitous of the relationship between the two countries under Préval's administration.

Then René Préval surprised them. A series of cables from the US Embassy, made available to Haitian press by WikiLeaks, show that initially, Préval's offense was his dealings with Venezuela and Cuba, a circumstance the US hadn't anticipated after Préval's actions to reassure them. US Ambassador Janet Sanderson took umbrage to perceived shows of 'independence or contrariness', shown by Préval in his dealings with Ugo Chavez. This was exacerbated by Préval's signing the Venezuelan PetroCaribe alliance, a coup with considerable benefits to Haiti, including the estimated $100 million the government would save per year. Washington had made it plain they would not support a Haitian oil deal with Venezuela.

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The public utility company in Haiti, Electricite d'Haiti (EDH) is largely owned by the Haitian government. It is also a symbol of Government inefficiency in providing needed services for its people.

In Haiti, only 12.5% of the population has access to electricity, officially. This however does not explain the real story. Irregular connection or to put it more direct, "stolen Electricity" accounts for more than 25% of the public consumption of electricity in the country.

Electricite d'Haïti (EDH) estimates that about 35% of distributed power is not being paid for by the public. Many residents in poor neighborhoods who can't afford the high cost charged by the company resort to stealing electricity. That is possible because the government is unable to enforce the laws, preventing people from stealing electricity.

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The MOH community in Haiti will be provided with solar street lights and twenty fours electricity within six months time, as promised by Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. At Port-au-Prince, he promised that electricity distribution would be made for all, twenty four hours of the day.

As this really possible?

Strengthening The Electrical Sector

To achieve this, the energy sector, which has been one of the major concerns for the Haitian population, since ages, would be strengthened. The Prime Minister of Haiti had stated that the EDH or the Electricity of Haiti would supply eighteen hours of electricity and this promise was kept.

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The passage of tropical storm Isaac in Haiti caused a variety of damages. Beside the alarming number of people who perished as well as damage in agriculture, Electricity d'Haiti (EDH) was also a major victim. EDH reported a loss of a total of 230 transformers, 1,200 poles of 40 feet and 1,000 poles of 35 feet. The Losses are estimated at 336 million gourdes.

Electricite d'Haiti has been working tirelessly to restore infrastructures which were completely decimated by tropical storm Isaac. They are expected to continue to work around the clock to move the process forward.

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