Dominica Grapples With Power Crisis As Aging Plants Struggle To Meet Island’s Demand

In a growing concern for residents and officials alike, Dominica is facing a mounting energy crisis.

The island nation’s aging 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) on Thursday, 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 aging machinery.

“This increased demand coincides with an aging generation fleet, particularly an aging diesel generation fleet, where 10 megawatts of generation capacity have surpassed their intended lifespan and are overdue for retirement,” she pointed out.

To promptly tackle the emergency, DOMLEC is leasing two megawatts of temporary generation from an outside source.

McKenzie also stressed the need of additional generation, citing Dominica’s first geothermal plant that will be commissioned “in a few years.”