Some Dominicans have begun exploring alternative sources of energy following a series of power cuts that have been plaguing the island, leaving many frustrated.
For weeks now, power cuts have become a daily occurrence. Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC), the sole provider of electricity here, blames these outages on its “Capacity Management Program.”
On Wednesday, September 13, DOMLEC announced that there was going to be an “emergency outage” in several sections of the southwestern part of the island. Hours later, it announced another power cut which included the entire east coast from Rosalie to North End, essentially leaving almost half of Dominica without power.
Many people say they have reached the end of their rope and are now exploring other ways to keep their houses and business places energized.
“There are power cuts all over the world,” John (not his real name) stated.
“But this is becoming more than ridiculous. Every day so? Not a single day passes by without DOMLEC announcing a power cut here and a power cut there.”
Right now, John said he is exploring multiple sources of energy but might settle on solar.
“I have a generator, you know,” he stated. “But gas is expensive. I cannot run it for the whole day. I’ve thought of different avenues for electricity and right now I think I will go with solar because here in Dominica we get a lot of sun, so it just makes sense.”
He said he has lost many productive hours because of the power cuts.
“The worst thing is when the power goes without warning or an announcement,” he stated.
“Sometimes, it goes just like that and you are in the middle of something and then you are left hanging. Honestly, I’ve lost a lot of money and there seems to be no end in sight.”
A resident of Giraudel told DNO that the power cuts are having a serious impact on his work.
“These power outages kill what I do,” he said. “I lost lots of computer work already, and I can’t afford doing so on such [an] insane scale. Additionally, food in our freezer degrades – lots of money and effort wasted.”
He said he is now seeking a solution to his dilemma concerning these outages.
“And now – seeing it will be a regular thing under the glorious name of ‘Capacity Management
Program’ – I need to find a solution,” he stated.
“Everyone can deal with a real emergency outage now or then. But it comes so regularly it should be printed in next year’s calendar…”
He said, for him a generator is not the real answer since it is expensive and is a hassle.
“So, I should thank DOMLEC for helping me decide to buy a solar system and go green,” he remarked.
“No more diesel for me.”
He further suggested a waiver on solar imports because of the power cuts.
“It would be nice to see that due to this dramatic failure of power supply, our Government would waive all import fees on solar imports – at least temporarily,” he said.
Meanwhile, many Dominicans have taken to social media to vent their frustration over the matter.
“You’d swear is a template they have and daily all they do is change the names of the communities,” one individual wrote on Facebook.
“Incompetence at its finest,” another wrote. “You would think that after having put PAYING CUSTOMERS through these series of back-to-back episodes of extreme inconvenience and disappointment, that you guys would have already made some official press briefing to bring further clarity to the actual situation. But no just a social media post to apologize like you’re not actively ruining people’s entire weekly schedules.”
Some say they are not satisfied with the reason DOMLEC has been giving for the outages.
“No explanation or a vague explanation full of jargon the local man cannot understand….we need answers,” one person wrote on Facebook. “We want to know the cause for this nonsense. Why are our appliances constantly being put at risk….at dis point best we cook all de food in our fridge and eat it cuz it cannot stay cold with Allu. That is not healthy…it is a health hazard…the constant temperature dropping on the food. Allu best let us know how long this gonna continue eh….ça c’est majee! (that’s nonsense).”
GO SOLAR FOLKS..BEAT DOMLEC.
TAKE TO THE STREETS. ALLU FRAID TO PROTEST AND DEMONSTRATE. it’s for allu rights.
Dominicans haven’t got the balls for protest anymore. They prefer to live on the CM’s leftovers and wait for free sewo. When they finally wake up, their country was sold right under their feet to China with Skerrit as defacto ruler. Strange bread these Dominicans….
What “rights” would they be protesting for….to have solar panels at their homes?
No, to have a solar panel over their head, the same one you have.
As one of the poorest Caribbean Nations, my heart goes out to Dominica. The Gov’t must reason with the populace. Imperial France is not a friend of Dominica, Sanctions on Venezuela by the Hegemonic USA and her former Slave holding allies, have cripple Dominica’ march going forward, and this must be fully comprehended.
A Dubique hydro power Dam would while the dangers are low as to where it would be located would
1. increase our energy capacity also with geothermal.we would be able to attain our selling of energy goals. meeting and exceeding our energy needs.
2. we would have a tourist attraction Grand Bay
3. we would have recreation fishing area, drinking water also fresh water fish industry centered around this
4. agricultural employment watercress farm
5. massive employment during the building and upon finishing this project.
Domlec could create a backup solar grid for these types of situations in far off communities in the meantime until we build Dubique Dam in in Grand Bay.
A stitch in time saves nine. Maintenance is one of the biggest problems in Dominica. At one point in time, most of the heath centers and the Marigot Hospital were left to rot to the ground.
DOMLEC is a victim of this corrupt, scandal scarred government’s negligence and gross incompetence.
I voice this with no compunction, Roosevelt is driving Dominica over a precipice and the passengers in the back of the truck are obediently and silently going to their demise. Incredible!
I have invested in Solar Energy and indeed it has paid off
I guess ‘Work In Nature’ has turned to work in the dark!
https://windominica.gov.dm/
people stop complaining all you put skerrit there take what all you get we had trump we throw him out he was no good so make a change stop voting labour see what happen time for a change tonia stop complaining and those jackxxx that is overseas in there glory stop going vote let the people who live in da vote for who they want
sadly to say but the country is getting from bad to worst,not much you can do when there so many power outrage am not Living dare bt I fill tour hurt Dominica and Dominicans home and abroad I think it’s about time for solution but remember that it’s takes a revolution to make a solution
“Capacity Management Program ” my *ss. Domlec needs to respect the citizens of Dominica as it has no competition and it’s public relations department needs to stop being lazy and find a respectful way to address the suffering of it’s customers. Hire a professional PR firm to assist you in addressing this untenable situation in the middle of the hottest summer.
When government bought the electric company from the previous owners, they inherited tired and old equipment. As a result the breakdowns we are seeing now should have been expected and better stabilizing measures put in place knowing how hot it gets in the summer months especially when global warming is factored in.
The minister responsible for energy needs to also respect the citizens and say something. Skerritt himself likes to speak on almost all other issues yet he’s moomoo whilst suffering Dominicans suffer inconveniences of unscheduled power outages making our lives miserable. Where is the care?
But wdw with the Geothermal nuh. I swear I’ve been hearing about “Geo Thermal” since I was a little boy….an up to now we cannot charge a phone with Geo thermal. Then we have a whole CREAD and being the first “climate resilient ” country in de world. Woyeeeee
The present depressing state of electricity generation is a carbon copy as to how the country is being managed.
This is precisely what happens when a dishonest bunch of shady characters hijacks elections and imposes themselves on the people.
Roosevelt is good at winning elections by chicanery but does not possess the intellectual capacity to even manage a pigsty efficiently.
Problem in Capacity Mgmt Program.
Translation: Get ready for the replacement, Rolling Blackouts Program used in Haiti.
Roosevelt and his emissaries have no idea how to manage a country. However, they are expertly adept at stealing elections.
The greatest need now is for the government to put a temporary HOLD on all major projects promised such as Int’l airport, cruise ship berth, zip line etc. etc. and COMPLETE the GEOTHERMAL plant.
Stop promised ‘improvements’ for 3 weeks due to this unprecedented heat wave till the heat wave ends in October.
That will stop the hemorrhaging of rolling-blackouts AND attract foreign direct investment massively, all in one move, then, you build an airport etc.
This does not surprise me in the least. If the government had owned Domlec prior to Hurricane Maria, the system would have been far worse than it is today.
A lot of people were all up in arms because the previous owners of Domlec were making $11 million in profit. Unless someone could show me that these profits were the result of gouging, I would have no problem with that provided they plowed money back into the company to maintain a reliable power supply.
Right now we have these jokers who could not operate a lemonade stand calling the shots. What could one expect from them.
I am looking forward to moving back to DA, but those frequent power outages will be a deal breaker for me. I am prepared to put up with some inconveniences, but I do not want to go back to caveman times.
The corrupt government of our country has no money to invest in our utility companies. Once again, I wonder where all our money goes? Is it perhaps that big pit in Morne Daniel??
I agree with the statement about lowering duty for solar matter of fact if it’s solar they should just make you walk with that, it’s relatively ‘cheap’ now for what you are getting. You can get a 5kw-10kw solar system which imo is free power because the sun will always be there even when it’s overcast you still getting some power from the panels, you can also have battery storage. The only thing is Dominica customs love to charge high duty you end up paying twice for your item or 50% of the total cost to get it to cleared in Dominica.
Guess what? Customs duty and charges are paid to the government of Dominica. The government is broke. Pa la they will remove the duty.
Don’t forget that they charge you duty on the shipping, -which adds no value to your item. Then stick it to you with 15% VAT on top of what they just screwed you for.
It’s illegal, but when given a sweet smile and “do you want it or don’t you”?
We have to suck it up muttering.
Hopefully we can pool together enough generators for the 2023 World Creole Music Festival – in the world’s first climate resilient nation….
As the situation is likely to be ongoing, may I suggest that DOMLEC revise its emergency answering service.
Rather than the repeated message, “All our agents are busy, please continue to hold. You are currently number XXXX…”, would it not be better to give recorded message of the areas affected by load shedding and the expected period of the outage. If a customer’s problem does not fall under that list, a second number can be given to report the fault.
And Domlec should bear the cost of the calls.
Na, that would take thinking outside the box. No one here gets paid to do all that.
You would swear that Dominica is in a warzone. Guess the electricity problem in Ukraine, (which is at war with Russia), is even better than what exists in Dominica. Everyday power cuts last for several hours, and people keep asking why this is going on. Today Wednesday 13th was the worst. Domlec needs to explain to us what is “Capacity Management Program”, and how long will it last. The people need to vent this state of affairs outside of Domlec’s Office in Roseau as well.
Bills will rise because of those outages, those who use generators have an extra cost to incur, damaged appliances are increasing, and the list continues.
This country is in utter disarray!!
The Icelanders don’t pay for electricity as it’s free from the ground, one would hope that since the geothermal plant is to provide over and above what we need, we would get lower tarrifs. But you know them, sell most of the power and tell us there isn’t enough, the rates remain the same, or higher as the investors will want their investment and dividend.
The government bought Domlec back, The geothermal plant was all talk talk talk till Hendo came back, and he has a PhD in geothermal technology. Least someone can afford to butter their bread on both sides.
so are we climate resilient yet? we goin backward.
We are getting there. No one said the mission would be easy or fast. I hope you did not think so.
BTW, what part are you playing in the effort?
Well I’m not using any diesel powered electricity for days on end. does that count? Mission? what a joke.
No, WE are not Climate resilient yet, far from it, but people like Skerrit, Baron, Henderson, Austrie, Blackmoore and the entire Cabal are.
DOMLEC’s reason for the frequent power outages – “Capacity Management Program”. What does that even mean? This statement is just an attempt to obfuscate the true nature of the problem from the public.
DOMLEC and DOWASCO are the two most incompetent entities in Dominica probably in the Caribbean.
With this problem added to the soaring inflation, the escalating unemployment, starvation wages, the already low standard of living going to further deteriorate. How much lower can we go? We are just about rock bottom.
I can sell you a shovel.
That’s their reformed way of saying “load shedding”.
that allu voted for take allu thing yuh
Actually, I will take this load-shedding with a view to enhancing capacity over what the UWPwee sold us….the surrender of control of a key national asset (DOMLEC) to a foreign entity.
You get that one right ✅️
Man, you can’t keep the lights on…Smh. Who cares who owns the utility if it serves the nation best. You are proving all of the critics of nationalization right.
Keep the lights and water on. Pick up the garbage. Police the streets and keep us safe. Those are the very BASICS! Everything else is predicated on that. And if one can’t do that, then Get Out.