Improving electricity services is one of the most important reforms in the Democratic Republic of Congo – El Nuevo Diario Newspaper (Dominican Republic)

EL NUEVO DIARIO, Santo Domingo – The Dominican Republic has a stable electricity service, but its financial balance is still far away, which is why new investments and new perspectives are needed, especially in an economy where continued growth means an increasing demand for energy, said Julio Virgilio Brache, president of the Dominican Republic Industrial Association (AIRD).

Brash spoke during his opening remarks at the “Industrial Conference: Challenges of the Electricity Sector in the Dominican Republic,” which had Electricity Director General Andrés Astacio as speaker.

“One of the most pressing issues of recent decades is electricity, for which we have yet to find a balance or a clear solution. We have developed an agreement that seeks to achieve one goal: “the provision of electricity service under the principles of universality, accessibility, efficiency, transparency, accountability, continuity, reasonableness and fairness of rates”, he said.

AIRD Chairman stressed the need for new investments and prospects to meet the growing demand for electricity, which is essential for the country’s industrial and economic development. “Meeting this and other challenges is not a matter for one person. “Joining the will is essential,” he added.

«We are talking about reform. This is one of the most important keys to the future of the country’s economic and social development, but we firmly believe that we must also be clear that any reform requires political will on the one hand and the full commitment of the public and private sector on the other,” he claimed.

Power Director Introduction

Outlining the challenges facing the sector, the Director General of Power explained that the demand-supply ratio has increased from 84.72% in 2017 to 98% in 2023. In addition, four energy tenders for 2,900 MW were conducted.

He believes that the main challenges of the system are: guaranteeing the continuous supply of demand and integrating more generation capacity; sustainability of distributors and reducing losses; updating the regulatory framework, security and stability of the National Interconnected Electricity System (SENI) with the growth of variable renewable energy sources, and developing the transportation network infrastructure in line with the growth of electricity demand and supply.

Explaining the prospects for the sector, he assured that renewable and non-renewable electricity generation will increase significantly by 2027, with the transmission system expansion program (2021-2035) foreseeing investments of US$ 794.7 million.

Regarding distributors, Astacio assured that investments of US$2,098.3 million are expected over the next six years in key areas such as circuit rehabilitation, loss reduction, substation expansion and system modernization.

As of May this year, energy sources are diverse, including natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, solar and biomass. Astacio said the goal is to have 25% of electricity provided by renewable energy by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

He also spoke about regulations, technological innovations to improve the efficiency and resilience of the power system, and educational actions and social responsibility initiatives undertaken by the Electricity Regulatory Authority.

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