Domlec debunks claims that load shedding will recommence after diasporans’ departure

The Dominica Electricity Company Limited (Domlec) is taking the initiative to reassure the general public that there is no immediate threat of load shedding resuming, especially now that the independence season has concluded, and a majority of the visitors and members of the diaspora have departed from the island.

Providing an overview of the company’s current status, Dave Stamp, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Domlec, disclosed that the relief customers experienced during the country’s 43rd Independence celebration was the outcome of a collaborative effort involving Domlec, its partners as well as the reintegration of certain equipment into the grid.

“It was not a coincidence,” he declared. “It was the result of dedication and hard work and us coming together as a company and also as a country because we got a lot of assistance from some large customers who assisted us by coming off the grid so that their capacity will be freed up for others.”

“Also, the fact that we brought a number of capacities that were down back in service, that helped. So certainly, with the diasporans gone, we will not return to load shedding. We can do away with that discussion. It’s certainly not our intention. It is not in our interest financially and is not in our interest from a PR and from a reputation point of view, to return to load shedding,” Stamp added.

He also emphasized that customers should not confuse routine maintenance with load shedding and clarified that interruptions for maintenance reasons are necessary at times, but they are not the same as load shedding. These maintenance activities are scheduled to minimize disruptions to customers and are part of Domlec’s routine
maintenance program.

Load shedding, on the other hand, he said, occurs when there is an insufficient generating capacity to meet the demand. Stamp assured that the reserve margin, which indicates the excess capacity available, is currently positive at 13%. He expected this margin to increase significantly by the end of November or early December.

Furthermore, the COO made known that the company’s available capacity at the beginning of the week was slightly below 19 megawatts. He noted that this is a positive development since in the preceding weeks, the company had been operating with a deficit in its capacity.

He shared that the recent rainfall has significantly improved the lake levels, and Domlec has also brought several units back into service, further enhancing the power supply situation.

“Let me just point out that we are not exactly where we want to be. We still need to improve upon this situation. We actually prefer our reserve margin to be somewhere from 20% and above and that will give us a lot more leeway and space to do our maintenance and to deal with any system issue, any trips [and] so forth on the system.”

So right now we’re still a little tight, but we are tight on the positive side,” he stated. Considering this favourable development and the ongoing arrangement with larger companies, which, he noted, remains in place, Stamp expects that by the end of the month and into early December, several substantial measures will come to bear.

Furthermore, they anticipate the arrival of the three additional megawatts of rented capacity on the island during the current week, in accordance with the timelines provided by the suppliers. Upon their arrival, the expectation is to have them installed and commissioned by the end of the month at the latest.

Consequently, the sole power company anticipates an additional three megawatts integrated into the grid by the end of November or early December. This addition will contribute to the overall capacity and significantly boost the reserve margin mentioned, which currently stands at 13%.

Furthermore, he indicated that Domlec currently has three megawatts of rented capacity, which is temporarily offline for significant maintenance. It is expected that this maintenance work will be finalised, and these units will be brought back into service, likely during the same period.

“We can look forward to better days ahead as far as the generation and the capacity is concerned,” Stamp declared.
Stamp also mentioned that they are currently benefiting from the support of a technical engineer and consultant who are actively working to restore normal operations.

He expressed his gratitude to customers for their patience during the past few months and emphasised that load shedding is not only an inconvenience to their customers but also adversely impacts Domlec’s financial health.

As a result, he pointed out that, from a capacity perspective, they are well-positioned as they move into the near future, including the upcoming Christmas season. They anticipate that it will be as smooth as the Independence season.

Meanwhile, a landslide occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, causing damage to the company’s hydro pipeline in Trafalgar. This incident resulted in several customers experiencing prolonged disruptions in their electricity supply.

Dominica News Online (DNO) has made several attempts to assess the extent of the damage and its potential implications for customers’ electricity service throughout the week. However, our efforts to obtain comments from the company have thus far been unsuccessful.