SANTO DOMINGO.- The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced that as of this afternoon it will begin to improve the supply of energy with the entry of 410 Megawatts to the national interconnected electrical system to reduce the generation deficit caused by the departure of about 700 Mw.
Antonio Almonte, Minister of Energy and Mines, pointed out that some 100 MW from Barrick’s Quisqueya 1, 100 MW from Falcondo and about 60 MW from Sultana del Este will be added to the system between this afternoon and evening. He added that to these MW will be added 150 that will be contributed by the Estrella del Mar 3 generator over the weekend.
The official considered that with the entry of these plants the interruptions that have affected the users of the energy service will improve, since they will receive the demanded energy supply.
On his side, Andrés Astacio, vice president of the Unified Council, pointed out that the output of generators has worsened due to the increase in demand that has reached its peak in recent days due to the heat wave, which exceeds 3,000 MW.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Mines blamed today’s blackouts on the past administration that “neither planned nor worked on time for the installation of new generation units despite the fact that it is known that in an expanding society such as the In the Dominican Republic, the demand for electricity grows annually between 3 and 5%.
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He recalled that in August 2020 the Government received an electrical system without reserves, so if a plant went out of operation for routine maintenance or due to a breakdown, then there was a generation deficit and that the following year, due to the post-pandemic economic recovery, demand energy skyrocketed to record levels.
He specified that to face this situation, the government launched an emergency tender for 400 new megawatts, which will be produced in the system between July and October of this year.
“We also launched a long-term tender for an 800-megawatt plant and a gas terminal in Manzanillo from the beginning of 2021. This tender ended successfully precisely this morning and in the coming days we will offer the details of the award », he points out in a statement.
He indicated that those 800 megawatts and the gas terminal will be built in Manzanillo without the government investing a single penny.
He said that another medium-term tender is also underway to install another 800 megawatts in various plants. The tender is at an advanced stage and will also be awarded this year.
“Furthermore, to achieve a generation system without a deficit, they have entered renewables for more than 300 MW and signed contracts for the construction next year of several hundred new megawatts,” he said.
