Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Economy
ing smuggling gas across the border from the Dominican
Republic. The fuel embargo also increased the population's
need for timber and charcoal, the major household fuel, resulting
in greater deforestation as well.
By the mid-1990s, the country's installed electric power
capacity was approximately 210 megawatts. The power industry's
performance is far below par, however, because of the
dilapidated condition of production and transmission equipment,
lack of maintenance, silting at the Peligre Dam, and low
stream discharge during the dry season. Power interruptions
resulting from generation and transmission equipment failures
occur frequently. Blackouts are even more common in the
provinces. The hydroelectric potential is estimated at 120
megawatts, of which fifty-four megawatts have been installed.
Peak demand in Port-au-Prince is capped at 100 megawatts
because that is all the supply that is available. But the potential
demand from Port-au-Prince could be higher than 200 megawatts,
if there were reliable supplies and adequate distribution
systems. Generation capacity was largely rebuilt after 1995,
which has enabled the EdH to supply eighteen to twenty-four
hours a day of electric power to almost all of Port-au-Prince
during the rainy season. Power supplies are usually unreliable
between December and March, when production at the Peligre
dam declines.
Transportation and Communications
Haiti's transportation system remains inadequate in the
1990s, in spite of the major infrastructural improvements that
accompanied the growth period of the 1970s (see fig. 13). Poor
transportation hinders economic growth, particularly in the
agricultural sector. Like other services in the economy, transportation—when
it is available—is prohibitively expensive for
most citizens.
Roads are considered the most important part of the country's
transportation system. Of a total of 4,050 kilometers of
roads, 950 kilometers are paved, another 950 kilometers are
gravel or otherwise improved, and 2,150 kilometers are unimproved
and almost impassable during the torrential rainy season.
Besides the paved streets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has only
two main highways. These highways, which were paved in 1973,
link the northern and southern regions of the country.
National Highway One extends north from the capital to Cap-
Haitien via the coastal towns of Montrouis and Gona'ives.
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