Haiti power firm says main hydroelectric plant down after protest

4/9/2024 11:37

        Haitian state-owned power firm Electricite d'Haiti (EDH) said on Tuesday that output at Peligre, the Caribbean nation's largest hydroelectric plant, was down to zero after protests over distribution of the country's flailing power supplies.
        
        Output at Peligre has been down since Monday, EDH said, after people stormed the plant demanding other areas be supplied before the capital, Port-au-Prince, where some residents are relying on diesel-powered generators and solar batteries.
        
        The capital's poorest residents cannot afford either alternative.
        
        EDH said in a statement, "Such actions, far from helping meet the population's electricity needs, make EDH's challenges even more difficult as the equipment used to operate plants are expensive and hard to repair, maintain or replace."
        
        It called on authorities to urgently take necessary measures to secure the plant, a structure of "strategic importance to the Haitian state."
        
        With a capacity of 54 megawatts (MW), Peligre provides nearly all of EDH's 60 MW of hydroelectric power, Haiti's largest source of electricity after fossil fuels.