The Minister of Energy and Mines, Joel Santos, reported that the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) registered a new historical record for maximum instantaneous demand this Wednesday, June 17, reaching 4,077.97 megawatts (MW) at 10:24 p.m.
The official highlighted that this new milestone confirms the trend of sustained growth experienced by the national electricity demand and evidences the need to continue strengthening the generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to respond to the country’s needs.
“This record is proof that the Dominican Republic continues to grow. More tourism, more industries, more businesses, and more households demand energy, in addition to structural changes in behavior and high temperatures, which forces us to continue expanding the system’s capacity to guarantee a reliable and quality supply,” stated Santos.
The new maximum exceeds the records observed during the last few months and approaches the 4,100 MW barrier, consolidating an upward trend that has characterized the national electricity system in recent years and that will continue to see new peaks in the coming months
The minister recalled that the country’s maximum demand stood at around 2,681 MW in 2019, while by 2025 it had already exceeded 4,000 MW, which represents a growth of nearly 52% in just six years.
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Faced with this scenario, Santos pointed out that the Government is promoting a broad investment agenda to strengthen the country’s energy security and respond to the accelerated growth in demand.
He highlighted that a strategy was launched aimed at expanding generation supply, strengthening transmission and distribution networks, as well as incorporating new storage technologies, with the goal of ensuring the electrical system has the necessary capacity to support the economic, industrial, and tourism expansion of the Dominican Republic.
As part of that plan, he mentioned the start of operations of Energas 4, with a capacity of 130 MW; the SIBA Energy project, in Boca Chica, with an additional 68 MW to the system; as well as the conversion to combined cycle of Manzanillo Power Land, which will add 414 MW this year.
Added to these additions are new battery energy storage systems (BESS), which will provide greater stability and flexibility to the grid, as well as various renewable generation projects that continue to strengthen the national energy matrix.
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Likewise, he highlighted the entry of the San Felipe generator, with 467 MW in 2027 and the Manzanillo generation projects, with two plants of 420 MW each, added to another 1,000 MW of renewable energy that will be integrated in that period.
The head of Energy and Mines indicated that the official projection estimates that the maximum national demand will reach around 4,250 MW during 2026, which is why the Government is working to anticipate that growth through investments in energy generation, transmission, and storage.
“We are planning the system with a forward-looking vision. Each new record confirms that the decisions we are making today are fundamental to guaranteeing the energy that the Dominican Republic will demand in the coming years,” concluded Santos.
According to the system’s operational records, the new instantaneous peak of 4,077.97 MW, reached this Wednesday, constitutes the highest electricity demand recorded to date in the country’s history.
