eletricity prices and conservation

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Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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My old boss and I were sitting in Charimicos one night and figured out that if the DR government buys about US$2 million dollars worth of compact florescent light bulbs, and gave each family a 2 or 3, there would be plent of electricity at current generation levels. Maybe some of you engineer types can correct my figures. Heck, if it is $20 million, it's better than the current situation and cheaper. I read about the price per kilowatt hour and maybe individuals will start buying them with their own cash.

Maybe I should put this in the business section. I would guess that zona francas and maybe even small and medium sized communities will develop their own power generating capabilites. Las Terrenas and Bavaro have their own systems. Does Sea Horse Ranch produce all their own power? Maybe some of us can share what the per kilowatt hour is at these places.

Converve and buy energy efficient devices.
 
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Porfio_Rubirosa

Bronze
Apr 26, 2002
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Is Capacity The Problem?

I've heard that generating capacity is not the real problem. Rather, its a grand mess of greedy foreign companies, corrupt government officials, botched privatization, failure of the government to pay its own power bills, theft of power, etc. The power goes out when the companies want it to go out.

Saving energy does not seem to help. Though many neighborhoods go without power 12 hours a day or more, the residents' power bills don't seem to go down.

Alternative power generating? Now that's a topic I would be interested in. It seems to me that the best answer for residents is to somehow get off of the power grid altogether.
 
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lhtown

Member
Jan 8, 2002
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For a neat new alternative technology for generating electricity see www.microturbine.com

For me, I am installing fluorescent bulbs in most of my fixtures except those that are turned off and on for very short periods of time(closets for example). Also, I am going to lower my hot water heater temperature and fix a problem I have that wastes hot water in the shower. I don't know how accurate my meter is although I suspect it is fine, but it is read and I am generally billed according to my usage. Also, we are being much more careful in turning off things and so forth.
 
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Porfio_Rubirosa

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Apr 26, 2002
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Remarkable

IHTown,

I was thinking wind or solar, but the microturbine is fascinating. Think about it. A group of neighbors could pool their funds, install some of these and take themselves completely off the grid. But I'll bet you that the Dominican power law prohibits anybody other than the eden-distributors from selling power.
 
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mondongo

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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This is a topic of great interest to me also. I also believe that , laws permitting, small groups or towns will form their own mini-grids. This mini-grid could get its power from an amalgam of the following sources:

1) solar
2) wind (they eat plenty of beans down there)
3) microturbines
4) fuel cells (http://www.plugpower.com/technology/)
5) other

The key to 3) and 4) lies in what fuel source do you use? Which fuel type is cheapest and most abundant in the DR:

a) natural gas (i hope)
b) petroleum
c) refined petroleum (diesel or gasoline)

Which will be followed by the ultimate question: how much? Reliabbility will be a no-brainer since as a private entity you would assure that. This is an opportunity waiting for a wealthy entrepaneur.
 
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MommC

On Vacation!
Mar 2, 2002
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dr1.com
But Porfio....if a group of neighbours did it they wouldn't be "selling" power. They would be generating for their own use on a cost sharing basis.....
 
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Porfio_Rubirosa

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Apr 26, 2002
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MommC,

I used to be a utilities regulator, so I know that these laws can be a little tricky. In most instances, where there is a legal monopoly (like with Edencrook Norte, Edencrook Sur, etc.), the government enacts laws promising the utility that it will have the exclusive right to "distribute" power. This means that individuals may not be empowered to band together and share power, because it would violate the monopoly.

For example, if I install a generator and sell power to my neighbor, then I'm a prohibited distributor. If my neighbors and I joint together to form a cooperative called "Barrio Medina Electric Cooperative", with each neighbor owning a share, and we each pull power from the cooperative's generator, then the cooperative is a prohibited distributor.

I believe that this is the case in the DR generally and that one of the only exceptions is for the Zonas Francas.
 
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