Business
Eléctricité d'Haïti Receives $35,000,000 [US] Grant
- Thursday, July 28, 2011 7:54 AM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a grant of $35 million [US] to support the effort to modernize Haiti's energy sector and improve financial and operational management of the country's energy company, the Electricité d'Haiti (EDH).
This aid is the first of three operations based on the reforms that the IDB intends to do about three years to help Haiti develop a reliable and sustainable energy sector.
Currently, about 70% of the population has no access to electricity. In areas covered there is an average of 10 hours per day of power. This service is still very frequently interrupted. The available capacity is less than a third of total demand estimated to be about 500 megawatts.
In coordination with other international donors, the IDB has made ​​donations to Haiti to repair the electricity infrastructure affected by the earthquake of 2010.
The Bank is also supporting the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric Péligre and use of solar energy.
IDB supports along with the efforts of the EDH to reduce technical and commercial losses through modernization of equipment and increasing the efficiency of billing and collection.
The other goal through this initiative is to encourage a lot more consistently households switch from coal to gas as the first is the cooking fuel most commonly used in Haiti.
These reforms, combined with public and private investment, enable the country to establish a sound regulatory and institutional framework capable of promoting the expansion of its energy sector.
The Haitian government has already taken steps to improve the financial viability, commercial and operational HRE through management reforms.
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Source: Le Nouvelliste
, Energy Sector Haiti
