Dominicans to get electricity fully restored by April 2018

Last updated: November 16, 2017 at 11:42 am

Electricity provider DOMLEC has ledge to reconnect all of its customers in Dominica by April 2018.

But the general manager has warned that there is “a long road ahead” after the company’s infrastructure suffered tremendous damage from Hurricane Maria in September.

At present, DOMLEC have reconnected 1,666 customers on the island.

There are 535 pending connections to certified customers.

Speaking at the daily press conference in Roseau, Bertilia McKenzie thanked all of her staff, including those “on the field, climbing the poles stringing lines.”

There have been zero safety incidents since Maria struck, which should workers should be applauded for, she added.

McKenzie said she was keen to address how long the restoration process would take – a question, she said, that was asked of DOMLEC employees every single day

“Based on our restoration plan, we are projecting that by April 2018 all customers will have access to the grid to facilitate reconnection.”

Asking for patience, the general manager stressed that speed must be balanced with safety.

“Please rest assured that we are working as hard as we can to restore power to all customers as quickly and as safely as we are able to do so,” she said.

“Hurricane Maria was unprecedented on so many levels and the damage to every part of our beautiful island was devastating.

“There is still much work ahead of us.”