Blackouts are back, at least in the capital city. This is not usual. The Medina administration had maneuvered so that blackouts were the exception, not the rule.
El Dia reports that the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) is operating with a deficit due to the maintenance and shut down of several generation plants.
One of the twin plants at Punta Catalina, the star of the Medina administration power solution, is out of service for a system glitch. Punta Catalina II contributes 375 MW. Other power companies are reporting maintenance works. Itabo II is out for scheduled maintenance.
A 300 MW CESPM plant is out and another three units of the CESPM network are shut down for the completion of conversion to natural gas. “The good news is that two of these units will enter the system in September. The other in October,” says Roberto Herrera, president of the Dominican Association of Electricity Industries (ADIE). Herrera says the conversion slowed down when several of the technicians returned to their home countries because of the Covid-19 crisis.
AES Andrés reports it will be back online on Tuesday, restoring 300 megawatts to the electricity grid.
El Dia reports that around 100,000 customers in EdeEste were affected by the electricity deficit. Edesur’s customers were also suffering, as the company published a tweet yesterday announcing that 10 plants were out.
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El Dia
10 August 2020