WILLEMSTAD – MFK Member of Parliament Ishahier Monte is calling on the government to provide Parliament and the public with a clear assessment of the current electricity situation on Curaçao, following repeated power interruptions in several neighborhoods.
Monte has submitted a request under Article 96A of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, seeking information about available generating capacity, malfunctioning power units, reserve capacity and the measures being taken to prevent further outages.
His intervention comes as Curaçao continues to experience pressure on electricity production. In recent days, neighborhoods have been disconnected from the grid on a rotating basis as technical problems with generating units, high temperatures and insufficient available production capacity have strained the system.
According to Monte, residents deserve to know how serious the situation is and what they should expect in the coming days.
“Electricity is not a luxury. It is a basic service on which every family, business and institution in our country depends,” Monte said. He argued that the population should be able to rely on a stable electricity supply while also receiving clear information whenever problems occur.
One of the issues raised by the parliamentarian is Curaçao’s dependence on wind energy as part of its electricity mix. Wind turbines can make a substantial contribution when conditions are favorable, but their production drops when winds weaken, increasing the burden on conventional generating capacity.
With relatively weak winds expected, Monte wants the government to explain what this could mean for electricity supply and what measures are available to reduce the risk of additional load shedding.
He is specifically requesting information about Aqualectra’s actual available generating capacity, including how much electricity can currently be produced, how many generating units are out of service and when those units are expected to return to operation.
Monte also wants to know whether Curaçao has sufficient reserve capacity to meet electricity demand when wind generation falls below expectations.
The questions come after Aqualectra recently disclosed that four generating units were unavailable because of technical failures. The utility said Curaçao’s electricity demand can reach approximately 140 megawatts during particularly hot days, while available conventional generating capacity had fallen to around 100 MW because of the four unavailable units.
Monte said the government, as shareholder of Aqualectra, must also explain what is being done immediately to stabilize the electricity system.
“The public needs to know not only what went wrong, but also what the government and Aqualectra are doing now and what they are going to do to prevent the same situation from happening again,” he said.