Energy storage haiti

Why is Haiti struggling to modernise its energy sector?

Haiti’s recent battles to modernise its energy sector serve as a stark lesson for how fraught the business of energy transition can be. In the wake of the scandal, the struggle to provide Haiti’s 11 million people with reliable energy – and the desire to attract foreign investment to do so – has taken on an evermore politically charged hue.

Can private investment help solve Haiti's energy crisis?

“We have had this energy crisis for a long time, more than 20 years,” says Evenson Calixte, managing director of Haiti’s Autorité Nationale de Régulation du Secteur de l’Energie (ANARSE), the nation’s energy regulatory authority. “And we believe that one element that can help reform this sector is private investment.”

How long does a power outage last in Haiti?

Power outages in some areas of the country can last for weeks, while in neighbourhoods near Haiti’s National Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince – always politically restive – jerry-rigged siphoning of current has gone on for decades as successive governments dare not act against it.

Does Haiti's Mose need energy?

For Haiti’s Moïse, who has made the provision of energy nationwide the cornerstone of his presidency, the promise has taken on added urgency as the nation approaches general elections slated for 2021.

Could a new solar system solve Haiti's fuel crisis?

Recognizing the vulnerabilities caused by HUM’s dependence on fuel-powered generators, the new solar system serves as a promising solution. Haiti’s current insecurity means that roads are often blocked, so accessing fuel is sometimes impossible. Other times, fuel might not be available at all or it is outrageously expensive on the black market.

How much money do oil companies make in Haiti?

In August 2020, a government anti-corruption task force published a report on the last ten years of the petroleum industry. It concluded that private oil companies operating in Haiti made $94m in undue profits between March 2019 and May 2020 at the expense of the state.