Last Updated on September 7, 2020, 9:46 AM AST by Anthony Morris
In Haiti, an impoverished nation where most people survive on less than $3 per day, customers in the shop of Auguste typically choose small systems which enable them to charge their phone and a lamp perhaps.
Auguste said that the situation is a failure of the state, a failure of the elite for the past 30 years. He added that the situation is going to stay as it is. Or it would get worse.
President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise took office three years ago and promised to bring around-the-clock power to Haiti.
However, amid political turmoil and unrest, Moise has presided over the worst power outages in over a decade.
Generation at the hydroelectric and diesel and heavy fuel oil-powered thermal plants of Haiti was down to 94 MW in August, which is less than half of its installed capacity.
According to the state electricity utility EDH, and less than one-fortieth of the capacity of the neighbouring Dominican Republic, which has almost the same population of 11 million.
Only around one-third of the Haitian households are connected to the grid, most of them in towns, according to analyst estimates, the people who suffer blackouts frequently, living with electricity for just a few hours per day.
Moise blames the sabotage by unnamed vested interests for the blackouts, and he accuses of also fomenting anti-government protests last year for preventing reforms.
Critics say that he is scapegoating others for the mismanagement of the already dysfunctional sector by the government.
The situation was exacerbated in July after Michel Presume, who is known for his privatization of various Haitian industries was appointed to overhaul EDH by Moise. This prompted a damaging strike at the state utility.
Employees besieged the headquarters and refused to fix or maintain the broken machinery, and left areas of Port-au-Prince without lights for weeks.
However, there are some signs of change.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
