When NRECA International’s Senior Program Manager Ingrid Hunsicker turned to the American electric co-op network for help to support a project in Haiti, Clare Bargestock, the Metering System Manager from NOVEC – the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, called her the very next day.
“Co-ops always find a way to help us,” said Ingrid. “We have a steady flow of lineworkers who volunteer their time, but we often need other types of assistance. This time, my colleague Guillermo needed help for a project we are managing in Haiti. Within a day of putting out the request, Clare called me, and we had what we needed.”
Guillermo Layerenza is the team’s senior distribution engineer. He began supporting the Pilot Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution (PPSELD) project in Haiti in 2017, and a big part of his job is to make sure the utility operates efficiently. And recently, to help PPSELD improve the quality of their service, he needed 600 AMR meters.
“The NRECA members helped us build PPSELD’s distribution system more than 10 years ago and their contributions are still important,” said Guillermo. “I’m very grateful for NOVEC’s help, their donation will help us make significant improvements at the utility.”
In 2012, NRECA International began a pilot project in northeast Haiti—funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development—to demonstrate how a utility can provide reliable, sustainable power to a nation where most people don’t have access to electricity. Today it is the only utility in Haiti—public or private—that provides electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 10-megawatt plant runs on diesel and heavy fuel oil and serves about 14,400 metered customers in and around the Caracol Industrial Park, which includes large garment factories and other businesses.
Keeping the lights on for PPSELD’s customers has required a skilled team that includes local Haitians, the creativity to provide innovative solutions, and the support of the American electric co-ops. NOVEC’s donation of 600 meters upgrades the current technology used, and allows Guillermo and the PPSELD team to remotely collect more accurate data on energy usage and losses. This is critical for PPSELD to understand how to improve their customer service and utility operations.
“I knew we had some meters available so I contacted Ingrid to let her know we may be able to help,” said Clare via email. “We wanted to donate the meters to help NRECA International with their efforts to improve lives in areas of the world that may not have access to this type of equipment.”
This isn’t NOVEC’s first time in providing support to communities across country borders. In 2023, two of their lineworkers were part of a volunteer team that brought electricity to a small rural village of Santa Isabel in northwestern Guatemala.
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