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Haiti: State Electricity Announces Plans to Make Power Available 24 Hours per Day

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) - Andress Appolon, Director General of Electricity of Haiti, having repaired all circuits lost a week after the passage of Tropical Storm Isaac announced a $160 million plan to have electricity available in Port-au-Prince 24 hours per day.

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For decades Haiti has had inconsistent energy production with many districts throughout the capital spending long periods in blackout. With $160 million coming from loans obtained through the PetroCaribe agreement, an end to energy instability is hoped.

The project to upgrade EDH systems will include infrastructure work. "The infrastructure and the network technology of EDH are obsolete. There has been a neglect for years at Electricité d'Haiti," said Appolon, adding that the last partial renovation made to the network was in 1984.

EDH does not use a technology that allows it to manage 1200km of power lines that conduct electricity in the metropolitan area. The Director General regrets that some poles and lines are nearly 40 years old.

The state electric company has to address billing issues and to find a solution to these problems, Andress Appolon suggested other billing systems including prepaid plans are in the works. "I've seen the results of the prepaid billing system in South Africa," she said.