PM Roosevelt Skerrit meets DOMLEC General Manager, discusses goals to enhance power supply

Roseau, Dominica: Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit welcomed Dwayne Cenac, the newly appointed General Manager of the Dominica Electricity Service Company (DOMLEC) to his office on Wednesday. He expressed delight in discussing several matters of concern related to the power supply aspect of the country.

PM Skerrit called it a productive discussion and said that the meeting outlined the ways of enhancing load shedding capacity of Dominica. He said that there is a need for the strategic goal to maintain the supply of the powers within the communities of the nation.

General Manager- Cenac also asserted that the company will ensure the generation of the reliable and affordable energy for the citizens of Dominica, so that the power could not become an issue for the people.

PM Roosevelt Skerrit extended his full assistance to DOMLEC and added that the efforts by the power supply company for the expansion of the country’s generation capacity will be fully supported by the government.

He said that they will closely work with DOMLEC to improve service reliability for customers, aiming to provide power to all Dominicans.

In May 2022, the government of Dominica announced their deal of purchasing the majority shares in the DOMLEC at a cost of EC$13.5 million. The agreement about the purchasing deal was signed between the government and Emera Incorporated on March 31, 2020.

At the time, a total of 51.9 percent of DOMLEC’s shares were acquired by the government from Emera Inc- a company which purchased the majority shares in April 2013.

With the agreement, the government held controlling interest in the company from April 1, 2022, however, the announcement was made in May 2022. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit had expressed delight and said that the deal was signed following months of intense and cordial negotiations.

Twenty-one percent of the shares are still be held by the Dominica Social Security, while remaining twenty-seven percent is still owned by private investors.

During the signing, Prime Minister Skerrit issued a statement and stated that the deal is aimed at reducing the pressure on DOMLEC’s network. He said that the government is seeing to signify the resilience of transmission and hydroelectricity from the Roseau Valley.

With the deal, the focus has also been made to increase reliability by minimizing the damage caused by hydro-meteorological events. PM Roosevelt Skerrit also asserted that DOMLEC would also focus on building and commissioning the geothermal power plant, aiming to reduce the dependence on the carbon footprints.