The Government of Dominica has acquired the majority share in local light and power company, DOMLEC, Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit has announced.
In address to the nation on Thursday, Skerrit said it was always the desire of his government to regain ownership of DOMLEC for the people of Dominica from from its parent company, Emera Corporation.
“I now have the privilege to announce that the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica will on March 31, 2022 sign an agreement with Emera Inc to purchase its 52 percent stake in DOMLEC,” he said. “This means that from April 1, 2022, and this is not an April Fools joke, the government and people of Dominica will once more hold controlling interest in DOMLEC.”
He pointed out that 21 percent of the company’s shares will be continued to be held by the Dominica Social Security and the remaining 27 percent is owned by private investors, mainly Dominicans.
Skerrit said the acquisition is in line of his government’s goal to “to build resilience in the energy sector through deliberate action to improve energy security and strengthen growth and economic prospects.”
“As part of our vision for a dynamic Dominica, we are pursuing greater efficiency in electricity generation to meet our national target of 100 percent clean, carbon-neutral energy by the year 2020,” he stated.
He said that the government of Dominica will seek to upgrade transmission and distribution lines and fortify operations at existing power plants “to deliver a more efficient electricity supply to homes and businesses.”
“These targeted efficiency measures, along with cleaner, more affordable geothermal energy is expected to result in lower utility bills, reduced cost of doing business and job creation as a spill over effect,” the Prime Minister said.
However, he pointed out his government does not want to create the illusion to costumers that assuming majority ownership of DOMLEC will immediately translate to lower electricity bills.
“But we are preparing the foundation for that,” Skeritt said.
He said the management of the company will remain the same.
Emera Corporation has been the majority shareholder of DOMLEC since 2013.
