Punta Catalina, the largest power generator in the country, was partially shut down on Monday, 18 August 2025 after a sudden influx of sargassum seaweed clogged its water intake. Punta Catalina is located in Azua, about an hour and a half drive west from the capital city.
The Empresa de Generación Eléctrica Punta Catalina (EGEPC) reported that Unit No. 1 of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant went offline at 6:25am. The plant administration explained that the massive accumulation of seaweed was a result of the rough weather conditions brought by Hurricane Erin.
The sargassum caused a drop in the unit’s circulating water level, prompting the shutdown as a protective measure.
While the plant’s operational capacity has been temporarily reduced, officials clarified that the incident has not led to any energy deficit in the national electrical grid.
Technical crews are currently working around the clock to clear the blockage and restore the unit to service as quickly as possible. The company is also coordinating with the national electricity system’s coordinating body to ensure the stability of the power supply.
The plant was expected to reenter into service on Monday evening and a new system was being installed to avoid other problems with the sargassum.
President Abinader said that the installation of natural gas power generation capacity in Manzanillo (420 megas) on the northwest of the country is expected to enter this year. He said this system and other smaller ones would riase the supply another 600 megas this 2025. He said demand has doubled from 2012 and the peak is now at 4,000 megas.
Celso Marranzini said the CUED continues to tackle the challenges. The CUED oversees power supply, distribution and transmission.
He said one of the most serious problems is not losses, caused by the aging transmission lines and the tradition of not charging for the service in rural and low income areas, but the high cost of the power purchased from generating companies. He said in many cases the power is sold to the distributors for what it costs, in others it costs more than what these sell it for to the public.
Marranzini said that the entry of the new power generators will make a difference. He said contracting from these will be lower than the cost of the Punta Catalina plant that is at 12.5 US$ cent the kilowatt. He said the Manzanillo generator plants that enter this year will be selling power at 10 cents the kilowatt and these have a fixed contract for 10 years.
Abinader says in 2026 tenders for new generation will be held so that there is sufficient supply for the next government to not have the headache of meeting power demands. It takes about five years to install a power plant.
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