Energy Fair: An energy fair to raise awareness and educate about the issue

The American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti Amcham launched this Friday, September 16, 2016, the first edition of the energy fair in the premises of E-Power located in Drouillard near Cité-Soleil.

This energy fair, which will be held over two days, September 16 and 17, aims to educate and train the population on the energy issue in Haiti. Carl-Auguste Boisson, the main speaker at the launch conference of this fair, indicated that each participant in the activity will have the opportunity to understand the difficulties the country is facing in this area.

Around 12 conferences are planned over these two days where around fifteen institutions will have, among other things, to exhibit their products. These exhibitors are: Dinasa, Féquière, Valerio Canez, Sogener, Casami, FME, Techno Moteur, Unibank, Sigora Solar, Gen Import, Ekotek, Mon Cash, Bobby Tip, Autogaz, Internegoce and Eol Meco. Overall, these are generators, solar installation products, inverters and systems for converting energy that will be exhibited at the E-Power energy production center. It is true that energy can refer to several concepts, but during the various conferences that will take place during the fair, the emphasis will be on electricity according to Mr. Boisson who spoke on behalf of Amcham.

Carl-Auguste Boisson, Daniel-Gérard Rouzier, Grégory Brandt, René jean Jumeau are among the speakers who will have to present the various conferences of this fair. They will not only focus on taking stock of the energy situation in Haiti, but will also introduce the public to thinking about the country’s energy situation, solutions that can represent alternatives, but also on the energy resources available in Haiti. The target audience for this event includes consumers, producers and retailers of electrical products.

Each year, generators and co that enter Haiti represent nearly 70 megawatts of electrical energy. In addition, the installed energy capacity for the capital Port-au-Prince represents 350 megawatts of energy while only 100 megawatts are distributed.

This means that Haiti faces a major energy problem, with 70 to 80% of Haitians reportedly using charcoal as an energy source, mainly for cooking. Recently, a study conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) highlighted that 7.5 million people do not have access to electricity in Haiti; which places the country first on the list of Latin American and Caribbean countries where people live without electricity.

A range of themes proposed at the fair:

• Reduction of the public subsidy of electricity, an obligation for development in Haiti.
• The impact of choices in public policies concerning oil prices.
• The conditions for the development and strengthening of national industries working in the energy sector.
• In order to carry out this energy fair, Amcham Haiti had the support of several partners including Dinasa, E-Power, Sogener, Valerio Canez, Ekotek and Charles Féquière.
• Entrance to this energy fair is set at 500 gourdes for the general public and 200 gourdes for students with their student card.