Suriname’s national power utility De Energie Bedrijven Suriname (EBS) has rolled out a new structured system to manage rolling power cuts, giving consumers the ability to check daily if their electricity connection is scheduled for shutdown during periods of generation deficit. The update comes after weeks of unplanned load shedding that disrupted communities across the country, replacing ad-hoc outages with a pre-planned, transparent framework that uses a custom-built digital portal for consumer access.
To use the service, customers simply enter their meter number or connection ID on the portal to see if their address appears on the updated list of potential outages. EBS updates the schedule twice daily: an initial version is released for morning and afternoon hours, followed by a revised schedule for evening outages posted later in the day. Utility officials have advised customers to check the portal two times per day to stay informed of any changes to their potential outage status.
Importantly, inclusion on the schedule does not guarantee a power cut. EBS emphasized that the daily list serves only as an indicative planning tool, and shutdowns will only be implemented if load shedding is deemed necessary to maintain overall stability of the national grid.
The new scheduling system was introduced in response to ongoing power supply challenges that began in late August. On August 25, EBS announced that electricity consumption during the current dry season had grown far faster than initial projections, leaving available generation units under extreme strain with no reserve capacity to meet unexpected demand spikes. At that time, the utility warned that rolling outages lasting a minimum of three hours per rotation would be implemented across the EPAR network, which covers most of Suriname’s coastal region and supplies power to the vast majority of the country’s households, businesses, and public institutions.
Over the past weeks, persistent power deficits and rotating outages have sparked widespread public debate over Suriname’s current generation capacity and the large-scale investments needed to strengthen the country’s power infrastructure long-term. Energy sector analysts and advocates have also called for greater public transparency around the root causes of the shortages and the utility’s long-term mitigation plans.
Compounding the current supply crunch is a temporary capacity reduction at the Brokopondo hydropower plant, one of the country’s largest generation sources. Ongoing maintenance work on the facility’s turbines has cut available output, with EBS currently able to draw a maximum of just 130 megawatts from the plant, down from the full 160 megawatts generated when all six turbines are operational. To partially offset the lost hydropower output, EBS has increased thermal power generation from the Tout Lui Faut facility.
With the launch of the new digital portal and daily scheduling system, EBS aims to bring much-needed predictability to households and businesses navigating potential outages, allowing them to plan work, personal activities, and critical operations around potential disruptions. The utility has also stressed that voluntary energy conservation by consumers can reduce overall demand enough to eliminate the need for scheduled shutdowns, urging the public to cut non-essential electricity use during the current supply crunch. Consumers can access the load shedding portal at any time to check their daily outage status using their connection or meter information.