STATEMENT By: Honourable Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit
I wish now to update you on efforts to address and alleviate the ongoing issue of load shedding, due to a shortfall in generation capacity at the Dominica Electricity Services Company (DOMLEC).
I speak to you today not only as Prime Minister or chief representative of the major shareholding interest in DOMLEC but as a resident of the country, who also has been affected by the frequent outages and who myself, long for them to end.
A reliable electricity supply is an absolute NEED in today’s Dominica.
I am in contact with officials of DOMLEC on a daily basis and I wish for you to know, from the outset, that the government of Dominica is leaving no stone unturned, in its effort
to overcome the challenge of returning consistency and reliability to our electricity supply, in the shortest possible time.
So I feel your pain and I share your disgust. This situation is unsatisfactory and I have said to the Board of Directors of DOMLEC that the government is available 24-7 to review and sign off on any and all recommendations, in the quest for ease and ultimate elimination of this problem.
Now what, you may ask, is the real challenge? DOMLEC has advised the Government that the Company requires additional generation capacity.
This is a result of its aging generators; The climate impacts the hydro system; the extreme heat we have experienced this year, being the hottest summer on record; and Increased demand due to increased activities in the economy. Based on our information, there is a shortfall of 2.3MW. People can argue among themselves how we have gotten to this point and whether anything further could have been done to avoid the deteriorated situation.
I am sure there would be merit in such discussions but these would not be very helpful now in finding a solution. There will be time for us to reflect upon and analyze this situation, dating back many years. But, alas, now is not the time.
My focus and that of the hard-working Board of Directors of DOMLEC and the staff of DOMLEC are to find solutions to the challenges and return normalcy to the delivery of service in the shortest possible time.
There are workers at DOMLEC who have not taken a day off since this load-shedding started. Directors have been meeting day and night to evaluate options and make recommendations. So as of now, we are giving ourselves under two weeks to break the back of this challenge and return adequate service to most communities, on a regular basis.
The Government of Dominica, working collaboratively with DOMLEC has also identified short to medium-term measures to address the issues now being experienced.
DOMLEC will rent a 3MW generating system from Aggreko, a US-based generator rental firm. When this Unit is commissioned on November 15, 2023, full capacity is expected to be restored and load shedding is projected to be eliminated.
We have been advised by both DOMLEC and the Independent Regulatory Commission (IRC) that the purchase of additional generators by DOMLEC to address the generation shortfall would result in an increase in price to consumers.
To protect the Dominican consumer from this projected price hike, the Government of Dominica has commenced the procurement of a new 5.2MW medium-speed generator for lease to DOMLEC on favorable terms. This unit is projected to remain in service for two (2) years in the first instance. The projected date for commissioning, as advised by DOMLEC, is April, 2024. So we are doing all we can, while still minimizing the impact of
increasing expenditures on the consumer. A number of Caribbean countries are currently facing similar challenges in meeting their electricity demands.
DOMLEC cannot simply go out and enter into debt. Such debt must be assessed and the means and mode of repayment approved by a regulatory body.
The only way to not pass on increased costs to the public is to not acquire certain types of medium and long-term debt. Others would say this more technically, but I am a lay person and so are the vast majority of persons listening to this broadcast. So let’s sum it all up by saying that the government has found a way to help support generation and access to the supply of electricity that is needed to match current demand, without being forced, by law, to pass such increases on to you, the consumer, whom we know cannot bear such at this time. You have suffered enough with these blackouts in this period of unstable and unreliable service.
So, we are pressing ahead. As the majority shareholder of DOMLEC, the Government of Dominica is fully cognizant of its responsibility to take a lead role in solving this troublesome issue. We recognize and regret the inconvenience of all this to individuals as well as to the business community. The government itself is a victim of the episode as productivity levels would naturally have fallen and we anticipate a negative impact on revenues. So we are all in this together. But I wanted to say to you today, that relief is on the way.
You may rest assured that the Government will continue to work closely with the management of DOMLEC to source appropriate solutions to secure the comfort and well-being of all Dominicans. I ask today for your understanding and continued patience. This is a challenge and an inconvenience for us all. But it is a situation that is well within our capacity to navigate and overcome.
Short, medium, and long-term approaches have been identified. In under two weeks, significant improvements will be seen. In just over a month, the situation should have been overhauled and rectified completely. This is the assurance the government has been given and this is the standard to which we shall hold DOMLEC. I appreciate your listening and I wish each of you a safe, productive, and Blessed day.