Haiti power firm says main hydroelectric plant down after protest
Adds EDH comment in paragraphs 4-5, detail on power alternatives in paragraphs 11-12
By Harold Isaac
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 3 (Reuters) -Haitian state-owned power firm Electricite d'Haiti (EDH) said on Tuesday that output at Peligre, the Caribbean nation's largest hydroelectric plant, was down to zero after protests over distribution of the country's flailing power supplies.
Output at Peligre has been down since Monday, EDH said, after people stormed the plant demanding other areas be supplied before the capital, Port-au-Prince, where some residents are relying on diesel-powered generators and solar batteries.
The capital's poorest residents cannot afford either alternative.
"Such actions, far from helping meet the population's electricity needs, make EDH's challenges even more difficult as the equipment used to operate plants are expensive and hard to repair, maintain or replace," EDH said in a statement.
It called on authorities to urgently take necessary measures to secure the plant, a structure of "strategic importance to the Haitian state."
With a capacity of 54 megawatts (MW), Peligre provides nearly all of EDH's 60 MW of hydroelectric power, Haiti's largest source of electricity after fossil fuels.
Just 49% of people in the Caribbean nation have access to the electricity grid, according to the latest World Bank data.
EDH said two transformers had been irreversibly broken, and it was unable to bring in technical assistance becausethe Ouest department, where Port-au-Prince is located, has beenvirtually cut off from the rest of the country.
Haiti is battling a humanitarian crisis that has seen violent and powerful armed gangs take over much of the capital and surrounding areas, cutting off safe transport as well of key supplies of goods such as medicine and food.
Nearly 580,000 people have been internally displaced and close to 5 million are facing severe hunger.
E-Power, a private firm that operates a 30 MW heavy fuel oil power plant in Cite Soleil, one of the capital's hardest-hit neighborhoods, is another key energy supplier in Haiti.
Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the plant alongside the head of EDH last month, which his office said was in order to evaluate the facility and consider how best to improve Haiti's electricity challenges.
Reporting by Harold Isaac; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Leslie Adler
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.