Electricity - Haiti Observer Blog

Located just off the Centre Department of the Artibonite River in Haiti is the Péligre Dam which is a hydroelectric dam. This dam is a feature of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is the largest dam on the island of Hispaniola and was created in the 1930's as part of the valley Agriculture Project to control flooding and provide energy assistance in the Artibonite River Valley. In 1956 the dam was completed creating the Lake Péligre with the hydroelectric portion being completed in 1971. The plant is capable of providing the country with most of its electricity.

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The Péligre Hydroelectric Plant, located in Central Department, supplies Haiti with much of the island's electricity needs. But in the past few decades it has deteriorated, neglected by Électricité d'Haiti, the national provider of energy.

Haitian President Martelly has made improving the energy infrastructure a primary focus of his 5 "E" initiative. Germany has responded to Martelly's call for a reliable energy system, by funding the restoration of the PHP. The goal is to provide Haiti with electricity service 24 hours a day in the not- too-distant future.

In an agreement with Germany, Minister of Economy and Finance, Wilson Laleau, along with German Ambassador, Klaus Shick, served as signatories to a memorandum of understanding for the sum of ten million Euros to restore the PHP. The PHP serves the Péligre Hydroelectric Dam (PHD), situated on the Artibonite River. It was constructed under the Artibonite Valley Agricultural Project during the 1930s, producing the Lake Péligre reservoir. Problems with the PHD have developed over past decades with large amounts of silt deposits increasing at an alarming rate. As a result, the reservoir's energy-producing capacity has declined. The cause of the alluvial buildup is deforestation of the island. Only 4%-6% of tree cover remains, when once the entire country was blanketed with forests.

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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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In an effort to turn around the ailing and fragile electricity system in Haiti, Prime Minister Lamothe met with U.S. officials to discuss how to give the Haitian population what it has long needed, a dependable and widely-available electricity system. Also present during the discussion was Cheryl Mills, a U.S. State Department representative, and Pamela White, the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti.

The two main problems, which beset Electricity of Haiti's (EdH) system are a diminished production capability and mismanagement of the system, which has led to significant losses in revenues. The government of Haiti (GOH) wants to form a partnership with the private sector to increase the production and availability of electricity. The World Bank (WB) and Inter-American Investment Bank (IAIB) are willing to partner with the GOH to achieve a well-managed and -operated power system for the Haitian people.

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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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Plans for a substantial investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), geared towards creating power solutions for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, were recently announced. The World Bank Group member, in tandem with their African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund (IFC ALAC) will help InterEnergy Holdings (IEH), a leading private investor in the propagation of power in Haiti's neighbor country, with interests in the power sector of the region, to create energy that is more efficacious in its productivity while leaving a smaller carbon footprint.

The $100 million endowment is an equity investment towards developing cleaner energy sources within the Caribbean, with plans of expansion into Latin American territories. The Dominican Republic has already made plans to cut down their emissions by 25% in time for 2030, and, already a proponent of the 'clean bill', Haiti's per capita carbon emissions is less than 185 other countries, at less than 0.1%.

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Haiti and the Dominican Republic have teamed up to improve both of the countries' power sectors. Haiti Energy Security Minister Rene Jean-Jumeau and Dominican Republic National Energy Commission Director Enrique Ramirez recently signed an agreement linking the two countries' power grid. Under the agreement, both parties will create a plan on how to boost the production of energy and lower the price of electricity to benefit the public.

The agreement is expected to help both Haiti and Dominican Republic to ensure energy security and deal with problems that may arise. If one faces a challenge in its energy security, the other would be there to help out. However, there are no specific details yet. Jumeau said an actual agreement will be made based on the countries' technical capabilities, access to funds and their social and commercial relations. The current agreement only touches on bilateral projects and relations with international organizations.

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The Electricity of Haiti (ED'H) is bothered by its expensive purchase of electricity from three private providers. According to reports, the public electric company has spent $440 million over the last five years in buying electricity from E-Power, Haytrac and Sogener. Up to $12 million is being shelled out each month to pay for 88 megawatts of electricity from the private providers. ED'H Director General Apollo Andress said it has been heavy to the company's pockets as it only receives around $5 million in monthly gross revenues. These high expenses forced the company to cut down on improving its infrastructure in order to meet its payment obligations, as well as led to a tax burden.

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According to Partners in Health, an organization in healthcare based in the United States, a hospital is expected to open in Haiti in March. The name of the hospital is Mirebalais University Hospital. The hospital is one of its kind and is expected to benefit the people of Haiti greatly.

Construction

Cost of construction of the hospital is around 17 million dollars. It is a national public hospital with around three hundred beds. Construction has been completed and the hospital is due for opening in March.

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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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