The general administrator of the Dominican Hydroelectric Generation Company (Egehid), Rafael Salazar presented the advances and strategic projects of the institution, during his participation in the panel “Reliability, competitiveness and sustainability: building the Dominican electricity system of the future.”
During the meeting, held within the framework of the Energy Summit 2026a strategic debate forum organized by the conference division of Mercado magazine and which brought together the main authorities and actors in the national energy sector, Salazar highlighted that Egehid is developing an ambitious master plan aligned with national energy planning and the country’s economic growth goals, with the objective of incorporating 1,000 megawatts of energy storage capacity by 2034.
The official explained that this strategy is based on five fundamental axesincluding the repowering of existing hydroelectric plants, the construction of new dams, the development of hydropumping and the incorporation of renewable energiesinitiatives aimed at strengthening the stability of the national electrical system.
He highlighted that “for the first time in the history of the Dominican Republic we will have three dams being built at the same time,” in reference to the projects that Egehid is currently developing to strengthen the country’s hydroelectric generation and water storage capacity.
Among these works he cited Guaigüí damwhose work was resumed at the end of last year; the La Gina dam, recently awarded and in the process of starting; and the Guayubín dam, which is in its final phase of construction. These infrastructures will contribute to increasing renewable generation capacity and strengthening national energy security, he explained.
Likewise, he highlighted the advances in hydropumping projects, considered one of the main large-scale storage solutions to support the growing integration of renewable energies in the Dominican energy matrix. In that sense, he reported that the Sabaneta I hydropumping project, which will produce about 250 megawatts, is ready to begin the bidding process once it receives the corresponding authorization.
The general administrator of Egehid also pointed out the importance of the work to recover the storage capacity of the reservoirs through the cleaning and extraction of sediments in strategic dams, actions that will allow optimizing the use of water resources and strengthening hydroelectric generation.
During the panel, Salazar stated that one of the main challenges of the sector is to promote energy storage and adapt the regulatory framework to facilitate new investments and innovative projects that guarantee the sustainability of the electrical system in the coming decades.
The panel included the participation of the executive vice president of the Dominican Electric Transmission Company (ETED), Alfonso Rodríguez, and the executive director of the National Energy Commission (CNE), Edward Veras, who addressed the challenges associated with the expansion of the transmission network, the integration of renewable energies and the financial sustainability of the electrical system.
