Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has issued a public call for patience from customers of Dominica Electricity Services (DOMLEC), following widespread recent power disruptions tied to the ongoing commissioning of the country’s landmark geothermal power plant.
Addressing reporters during a Wednesday press conference, Skerrit highlighted that Dominica has made history as the first country in the Caribbean region to integrate geothermal energy into its national power grid. As a trailblazer in this regional energy transition, he emphasized, the nation is navigating uncharted technical and logistical territory that comes with being the first mover.
“The geothermal facility is still in its commissioning phase, which involves extensive testing, fine-tuning of equipment, and full system integration before it can launch into full commercial operations,” Skerrit explained. “I am not downplaying the disruption and inconvenience these rolling outages have caused for households and businesses across the country. But these growing pains of recent weeks are the necessary price we pay for pioneering a new energy future for our nation.”
Once all commissioning work is finalized, Skerrit outlined the transformative long-term benefits the project will deliver for Dominica. Consumers will see reduced electricity rates, the national power supply will gain far greater reliability, and the country will cut its heavy dependence on costly imported fossil fuels that have long left its energy market vulnerable to global price volatility.
Since the plant began initial power generation in March, Skerrit confirmed that temporary service interruptions have stemmed from technical challenges inherent to testing and integrating brand-new energy infrastructure into the existing national grid. Crucially, he added, every issue that has emerged during the testing process has already been identified, targeted, and fully resolved as part of standard commissioning protocols.
Beyond the main geothermal generation facility, commissioning work is also progressing on a suite of associated critical infrastructure: a new 33-KV underground transmission line, the Fond Cole substation, and an on-site battery energy storage system. All these components must work in perfect synchronization to form a fully functional, integrated national power system, Skerrit noted.
The Dominican government remains fully confident in the geothermal project and its ability to deliver sustained, long-term benefits to the country, the prime minister reaffirmed. “While we recognize the frustration caused by recent outages, rolling out a project of this scale requires rigorous, meticulous testing to guarantee that when it enters full commercial service, it operates safely, reliably, and efficiently for decades to come,” he said. Skerrit closed by thanking the Dominican public for their ongoing understanding and patience as the project nears completion.