RECA International Cited by Dominican Republic Senate

Caribbean nation lauds ‘valuable contributions’ of electric co-ops to nation’s infrastructure.

Hannah Kamenetsky

Few people in the United States remember the day the lights first came on.

But in the Dominican Republic, lights are still being turned on in many remote areas, thanks to NRECA International, which has worked in the Caribbean nation for nine years.

And the people of the Dominican Republic are very appreciative—so appreciative that their Senate passed a resolution honoring the program for its dedication to helping bring electricity to rural areas.

The resolution, signed by Senate President Andres Baubita Garcia, recognizes the program “for its valuable contributions in support to the energy sector in the areas that most need it within the Dominican Republic and worldwide.”

The Senate presented the award to a delegation of NRECA International board members—Perry Rupert, representing Kansas; Ron Schwartau, representing Minnesota; Joe Webb, representing Indiana; chairman Gregg Gardiner; and Patrick Gioffre, NRECA executive vice president—March 14, during a trip there to review projects and plan future programs.

The honor was unexpected, said Gardiner, who is also chairman of NRECA’s International Committee and made the journey at his own expense, as with all board members’ overseas trips.

“You don’t do this for recognition,” he said. “You do it because it needs to be done. The NRECA International program is based on trying to help people who don’t have electricity so they can have better lives and experience economic development.

“It was really wonderful that the Senate and the government thought enough about what we did to recognize it, and to honor Danilo Carranza,” NRECA International’s country director, for his leadership, Gardiner added.

NRECA International has helped with many programs in the Dominican Republic, including creating a wind map; reconstructing the electric grid in two villages after Hurricane Georges in 1998; developing a national master plan for rural electrification based on a geographic information system; and helping launch energy-efficiency and loss-prevention programs.

The Dominican Republic “has benefited significantly for over nine years from these important energy programs,” the resolution says.

“It’s an honor to work in the Dominican Republic,” said Vivek Talvadkar, senior vice president, NRECA International Programs.

“This is a wonderful example of government authorities, funding agencies and NRECA all working together to improve the lives of people through the access to electricity,” he said.

NRECA International is working with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank on a pilot project to upgrade and restore power in a remote area on the Haitian border.

A new electric co-op, “La Fronteriza,” the first of its kind in the country, has been established to bring reliable electricity to as many as 17,000 people there.

It also is working with the World Bank on a project on the outskirts of a city to bring electricity to destitute areas by establishing an electric co-op.