The Director of the National Energy Commission, Enrique Ramirez, and the Minister of Energy in Haiti, Rene Jean-Jumeau have signed an agreement committing the Dominican and Haitian governments to start studies to connect the energy system between the two countries.
Ramirez said that although the Dominican Republic had not been able to overcome the profound deficiencies in the national energy system, this was no reason not to work together with Haiti. He went on to give the example of how they helped Haiti to restore power supplies after the 2010 earthquake.
He said that they should make the most of each other’s territorial and economic situation, as happened in other countries in South and Central America.
He added that it would be easy to work with Haiti, and once the studies on ways of connecting the two countries have been completed, in the future when the Dominican Republic was making too much electricity, they could sell it to Haiti.
When asked how long it would take to establish the connection, the Haitian Minister said between two and 25 years, depending on the conditions in each country.
In order to implement the project both countries are looking for help from the Organization of American States (OAS), the Latin America Energy Organization, Caricom Energy Program, the United States International Agency for Development (USAID) and the Worldwatch Institute Project.
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/01/29/i369312_republica-dominicana-haiti-interconectaran-sus-sistemas-electricos.html