Blackouts Getting Worse

[MiamiDRGuy]

My wife informed me yesterday and 2 days ago, she never seen it before. 10-12 hours blackout then one hour light went back on then off again for other 10 hours. The gov't says its because of heat wave? BS. I'm sick of this and taking advantage of people and they don't do anything or take this seriously. We are in 2023, for god's sake!

It's the problem they don't do repairs properly, they just band-aid it and leave as it is. No wonder the new Punta Catalina is a joke, waste of money and it doesn't solve this electric crisis.

How we can actually fix the electric system in DR to make sure it will RUN 24/7 like in the states?

Your answer: Eliminate corruption and repair the system by replacing all parts and make sure everyone PAY. No more free electric, my friend.

Other way to get gov't attention: Everyone - DO NOT PAY bills, let them suffer. You'll be surprise how quickly they will cry for money. Since money is power to them.

More story about this blackout issue can be found: https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2023/05/06/heat-wave-and-power-outages-hit-the-population-hard/

 

[SKY]

Or you can move to Punta Cana..................

 

[keepcoming]

Unfortunately, this is how it is. I have been in the DR for many years, and it has always been the same. "Not pay the bill", it won't make a difference. Because trust me many don't, and that is one of the problems. Also where does your spouse live? The location also makes a difference.

 

[CristoRey]

Punta Catalina was built to make a chosen few a lot of money. Increasing (or not) the electricity supply is a by-product of the deal.

Electricity was immediately privatized shortly after Luis took office. At the time the politicians promised the public that rates would not increase (which they did) and the supply would be greater (clearly it is not).

Welcome to Wonderland.

 

[JD Jones]

Unfortunately, this is how it is. I have been in the DR for many years, and it has always been the same. "Not pay the bill", it won't make a difference. Because trust me many don't, and that is one of the problems. Also where does your spouse live? That location also makes a difference.

True. In San Cristobal blackouts are few and far between. I go weeks without a single one. The last one was last week and lasted about a half an hour.
I'm sure a lot of persons have read my posts about having an expensive generator that hardly gets used. I run it every month or so just to keep it ready for an emergency.

 

[Fulano2]

I am back in Europe since a couple of day and spent some five weeks in RSJ - GH.
Two or three short blackouts, I was positively surprised.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

The power situation is a national embarrassment. As SKY said, PC is an option. I spent a year in the corrupt drug infested Galeras, but the Eastern part of Samaná and many parts East have privatized energy Co's. I paid 15 pesos /kilo and never had an outage of more than 60 to 90 seconds.

Adding for shits and giggles, Cabrera has been experiencing twice-daily outages the past week or two. The voltage is coming in at an average of 100, believe it or not. How embarrassing

 

[chico bill]

It's better than 15 years ago but still not acceptable. There is no maintenance. When you file an issue like a broken pole leaning dangerously and live line only 3' above the ground it's ignored.
But the whole world seems to be imploding.
As far as paying - yes everyone must pay but for example when Corraplata finds illegal connections on water nothing gets done. And EdeNorte ignores illegal connections too.

 

[Kipling333]

As far as la Romana is concerned, there are some barrios that seldom have an outage and these are the wealthier barrios where I imagine residents pay their bills and also the central La Romana area which has a large number of restaurants . The other barrios experience outages every day ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours or more and are more frequent in the summer months. It is the same pattern for water . While the golf courses of nearby Casa de Campo are fooded with water every day , the overwhelming number of houses in La Romana receive only a few hours of water twice a week. Every house needs a tank above and/or below the house.

 

[windeguy]

Punta Catalina was built to make a chosen few a lot of money. Increasing (or not) the electricity supply is a by-product of the deal.

Electricity was immediately privatized shortly after Luis took office. At the time the politicians promised the public that rates would not increase (which they did) and the supply would be greater (clearly it is not).

Welcome to Wonderland.

I still pay my bills to the government power distribution company Edenorte.
The incompetence has actually improved over the 20 years I have been here.
Now they are just extremely incompetent.

 

[windeguy]

In my NY Times daily email:

Backup Power: A Growing Need, if You Can Afford It (Published 2023)

Extreme weather linked to climate change is causing more blackouts. But generators and batteries are still out of reach for many.

www.nytimes.com

• Blackouts from extreme weather linked to climate change are becoming more common. Many people can’t afford generators and batteries.

So, you see, it "happens everywhere". Don't you hate when people say that? I certainly do. This is the DR and that is where I care about what is happening now. People who think the world can go green to provide power while blackouts are getting worse have their heads up their butts.

Here in the DR, it is primarily incompetence within corrupt government entities.

 

[windeguy]

MiamiDRGuy, your wife did not live where I did and still do in Cabarete 20 years ago. We had a maximum of 10 hours of power a day when Hippolito was president of the DR. Circuits had different classes based upon the power stolen. Ours was on the worst offender list for years.

I was changing batteries for back up power more frequently than Dominicans change the oil in their cars. Now we only have blackouts about once or twice a week.

 

[bob saunders]

It's better than 15 years ago but still not acceptable. There is no maintenance. When you file an issue like a broken pole leaning dangerously and live line only 3' above the ground it's ignored.
But the whole world seems to be imploding.
As far as paying - yes everyone must pay but for example when Corraplata finds illegal connections on water nothing gets done. And EdeNorte ignores illegal connections too.

Not is Jarabacoa, EdeNorte is quick to disconnect non-payers. Blackouts in my parts of town are usually scheduled ones, like every Tuesday for about 6 hours during the day. The other blackouts have not been more frequent., at least not the last month or two, but definitely more often than under the previous government.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

The reality of the utility distribution systems for most of this country hasn't changed much over the years. Often there is not sufficient electricity or water supply to meet consumer demand. When there is power it is not uncommon for the utility to shut it off in different areas for maintenance work or to regulate the load across the network. Same with water delivery.

Practically, one has to accept these deficiencies and make whatever arrangements are necessary to supply your own needs when the power goes out. You rarely know how long it will be off and it always seems to go off at an inconvenient time. Especially after a storm or other event that causes widespread damage to the grid, it could take days to be repaired. The reliability of the electrical distribution system has always been a pet peeve of mine but having learned the lesson of self-reliance, batteries, inverter, solar and generator capacity are the only way to ensure that your fridge stays cold or you can see without having to carry a flashlight around with you.

Upgrading the grid would be a colossal undertaking and most likely is beyond the interest and capabilities of the Govt and the EDE's for the foreseeable future. Complaining about the utilities and the lack of service is a frequent obsession for many of us. We all now understand that self reliance is the only solution available to us and that costs money. So we either choose to spend it or we accept living with current reality in the dark with no control over when and for how long the electricity goes off.

 

[AlterEgo]

Surprisingly, almost shockingly, we went from at least 12 hours a day without electricity to just about 24/7 power. So much so that we didn’t replace our 8 batteries or one of the inverters that died. We do live not far from Punta Catalina, as the crow flies. Maybe that’s why.

Another thing I noticed is that Sirena in San Cristobal always had several full pallets of batteries. Now there are only 2, and each one has only about 8 batteries available. Before they were stacked full. Tells me the whole area has better electricity now, people aren’t buying them like before.

So I agree that it depends where you are in DR. I never thought we’d see the day when electricity wasn’t an issue.

 

[NanSanPedro]

Does anyone remember last year when they said lots of blackouts for the last 6 weeks of the year? Since then, it's been very good here in Boca Chica. I think we've had one blackout > 2 hours since January. I'm not sure of why, but we do have Siba Energy there at the BC substation. So far so good.

https://listindiario.com/economia/2...uccion-del-ciclo-combinado-de-la-central.html

 

[JD Jones]

They are constantly upgrading the grid. Following their IG pages and you'll have no doubt about that.

But they are going to expend the most effort in the areas where they get the most bang for the buck.

If you can upgrade something that will improve service for hundreds of thousands, or something that improves service for a few hundred, which would you do?

 

[NanSanPedro]

They are constantly upgrading the grid. Following their IG pages and you'll have no doubt about that.

But they are going to expend the most effort in the areas where they get the most bang for the buck.

If you can upgrade something that will improve service for hundreds of thousands, or something that improves service for a few hundred, which would you do?

What you say makes sense JD, but then why the blackouts in the largest city with the densest population?

 

[Kipling333]

Well it seems that the province of San Cristobal is doing very well but that La Romana not nearly as well and similarly most parts of Altagracia .

 

[JD Jones]

What you say makes sense JD, but then why the blackouts in the largest city with the densest population?

Whoops. I should have said "hundreds of thousands who pay"