The new study by RAC and ENGIE/Laborelec shows that Aqualectra has implemented important technical improvements. But the next step is to demonstrate that these improvements also translate into structurally reliable electricity.
My earlier analysis raised a simple question: if hundreds of millions are being invested in our electricity supply, where is the security for consumers?
Since then, the investigation by the Regulatory Authority of Curaçao (RAC) and ENGIE/Laborelec into the blackout of August 27, 2025 has become available. That report deserves a nuanced assessment.
There has been progress
It would be incorrect to claim that Aqualectra has done nothing. The investigation identifies improvements in system protection, electricity generation and grid stability, as well as organization and procedures. Battery storage has also been installed. According to RAC, earlier fundamental areas requiring improvement are now being addressed.
That progress should be acknowledged.
But a technical measure is not an end result. Consumers do not buy a new protection philosophy or a battery. Consumers expect their homes, businesses, hotels, hospitals or factories to have a reliable electricity supply.
The question should therefore shift from:
“What has Aqualectra done?”
to:
“What have those measures demonstrably achieved?”
Megawatts on paper are not enough
According to the latest RAC figures, Curaçao has 151 MW of conventional generation capacity, in addition to 69 MW of wind capacity and approximately 16.6 MW of registered photovoltaic capacity.
But 151 MW on paper does not mean that 151 MW is available at all times.
A power plant may be undergoing maintenance, a generator can fail or operate at reduced capacity, while wind and solar power depend on weather conditions.
For security of supply, firm capacity is therefore particularly important: how much generating capacity is actually available and dispatchable when Curaçao needs it?
The reserve margin is equally crucial: how much capacity remains available when electricity demand peaks or a major generating unit fails?
These figures are far more relevant than installed capacity alone.
The energy transition requires more reliability, not less
More wind and solar energy is necessary for Curaçao’s transition toward a more sustainable energy system. But as the share of variable renewable energy increases, storage, dispatchable generation, grid stability and adequate reserve capacity become increasingly important.
Our electricity system must therefore be:
sustainable + affordable + reliable + resilient.
A system that is sustainable but regularly fails is ultimately not a good system.
Investment is not an achievement in itself
Aqualectra is investing heavily in the future. That is necessary, but investments must also produce demonstrable results.
The public should therefore be able to see:
• how much an investment costs;
• how much reliable capacity it adds;
• how many outages it helps prevent;
• how much fuel it saves;
• what effect it has on electricity rates;
• and what return it generates.
An investment is not an achievement in itself. The question is what that investment actually delivers.
Time for a public reliability dashboard
The new RAC study provides reason to acknowledge the progress that has been made. But precisely for that reason, it is now time to take the next step.
RAC and Aqualectra should periodically publish a Curaçao Electricity Reliability Dashboard containing, among other things:
• available firm capacity;
• reserve margin;
• unplanned outages of generating units;
• frequency and duration of power outages;
• scale and duration of load shedding;
• curtailed renewable energy;
• planned versus actual investments;
• and the economic cost of electricity not supplied.
That would allow citizens, businesses and Members of Parliament not only to hear that the system is improving.
They would also be able to measure it.
Aqualectra 2.0
The new study therefore does not mean that criticism should be replaced by applause. It means that the discussion should be taken to a higher level.
Not:
“Have we invested?”
But:
“Has the system demonstrably become more reliable?”
Not:
“How many megawatts have we installed?”
But:
“How many megawatts are actually available when demand is at its highest?”
And not:
“How much money have we spent?”
But:
“What has every guilder invested delivered for consumers and the economy?”
That is what Aqualectra 2.0 should mean: not only a more modern electricity system, but one whose reliability is measurable, verifiable and demonstrable.
Because ultimately, the most important KPI is not how many power plants, batteries or solar panels Curaçao has.
The most important KPI is simple: do the lights stay on?
Drs. Luigi A. Faneyte MSc. CFE CICA CCS
Economist, financial expert and PAR parliamentary faction staff member in the Curaçao Parliament