Dominican Republic faces energy challenges amid power outages and renewable loss

The Dominican Republic is grappling with significant energy sector challenges, including prolonged power outages and inefficiencies in renewable energy integration. Residents in Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo Este, and Boca Chica have reported electricity interruptions lasting up to nine hours, impacting homes and small businesses. These outages are attributed to generation deficits caused by the temporary removal of several units from the national system, including plants such as Punta Catalina and AES Andrés.

Furthermore, InterEnergy Group President Rolando González Bunster reported that the country is losing more than 25 percent of its potential renewable energy due to grid integration limitations, a phenomenon known as ‘curtailment’. This inefficiency increases economic pressure by maintaining a dependency on expensive imported hydrocarbons.

In response to these pressures, the Dominican government has projected a budget of approximately $2.3 billion for 2026 to subsidize electricity and fuels, alongside social programs. While Minister of Energy and Mines Joel Santos noted that electricity tariffs have remained frozen since 2022, the government continues to manage a shifting energy matrix that has moved from 88 percent fuel oil in 2000 to just 9 percent today through the inclusion of natural gas, coal, and renewables.