Why is Haiti struggling to modernise its energy sector?

Haiti’s recent battles to modernise its energy sector serve as a stark lesson for how fraught the business of energy transition can be. In the wake of the scandal, the struggle to provide Haiti’s 11 million people with reliable energy – and the desire to attract foreign investment to do so – has taken on an evermore politically charged hue.

Can private investment help solve Haiti's energy crisis?

“We have had this energy crisis for a long time, more than 20 years,” says Evenson Calixte, managing director of Haiti’s Autorité Nationale de Régulation du Secteur de l’Energie (ANARSE), the nation’s energy regulatory authority. “And we believe that one element that can help reform this sector is private investment.”

Why is energy so expensive in Haiti?

The economy in Haiti has a heavy reliance on fossil fuel energy which is entirely imported. But rising energy prices caused by the recent global social and economic turmoil have hit the domestic energy market hard. Today, Haiti sees some of the highest diesel costs in the world, peaking at $15 per gallon.

How does Zola help Haiti green solutions?

In addition, by facilitating localized solar energy production and providing smart technology with remote management tools, ZOLA empowers Haiti Green Solutions to build out a network of distributed renewable energy devices and manage that network in a centralized fashion.

How much money do oil companies make in Haiti?

In August 2020, a government anti-corruption task force published a report on the last ten years of the petroleum industry. It concluded that private oil companies operating in Haiti made $94m in undue profits between March 2019 and May 2020 at the expense of the state.