Port-au-Prince goes dark: Residents shut down Haiti’s main power plant to demand security

PORT-AU-PRINCE —  Frustrated by the government’s failure to retake Mirebalais from gangs, residents from nearby rural areas shut down Haiti’s main hydroelectric plant last week, demanding security. The closure of the Péligre dam has plunged Port-au-Prince and several regions into darkness, intensifying fears of a nationwide energy collapse amid a looming fuel shortage.

“There’s no life here,” one Mirebalais resident, who chose to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns, told The Haitian Times. “The bluff has its limits. Despite everything you hear about the police, they haven’t been able to retake Carrefour Péligre [area].”

Gangs took control of Mirebalais—about 40 miles northeast of the Haitian capital— on March 31, overrunning the city’s prison, torching homes, disrupting hospitals and schools, and killing dozens, including religious leaders. Residents say authorities have failed to respond with adequate force. Anger has spread beyond the city center to rural communities like Ledier and Cange.

The Péligre dam, located less than six miles from Mirebalais’ city center, is Haiti’s primary power plant facility. Designed and built in the 1950s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Brown and Root during the Paul Eugène Magloire presidency, the plant has already seen its output drop to 36 megawatts — down from a 54-megawatt capacity — due to low water levels and mechanical issues, according to union leader Pierre Michel Félix. 

The state-run company Electricité d’Haiti (EDH) operates the hydroelectric plant under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communications. Péligre alone supplies over 30% of the country’s electricity. The plant’s closure with no reopening date in sight highlights the government’s vulnerability to armed groups and social instability.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé’s government and the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) led by Fritz Alphonse Jean have yet to publicly comment on or respond to the situation, which threatens to worsen Haiti’s multidimensional crisis.

For now, things are under the control of residents, regrouping in a brigade to counter gang assaults. “The plant is inoperative until further notice,” said a Ledier resident, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “No one is fighting for us. Police hide in hotels instead of pushing back the gangs,” he said with frustration.

Outrage after gangs hold musical celebration in Mirebalais

The residents’ actions followed a gang-organized rara music event on May 11, announced publicly days earlier. No law enforcement intervention occurred despite the publicity on social media about this event. Locals say the spectacle, which celebrated the gang’s takeover of the town, symbolized the state’s failure to regain control.

“If the police were serious, that event would never have happened,” said another resident. “Now I just sit outside playing dominoes—I can’t even go to town anymore.”

Residents fear that outlying communities are next as gangs advance neighborhood by neighborhood. They said they acted out of desperation, hoping the shutdown of Péligre would force government attention.

Attorney Robenson Mazarin, a member of the Initiative de Mirebalais movement, backed the residents’ decision. “It’s been more than a month since we’ve asked for reinforcements and proper equipment,” Mazarin said. “Nothing came. People are fleeing their homes,  sleeping in the bush, and going hungry. Receiving security from the state isn’t a favor—it’s a right.”

Blackouts and indifference have paralyzed the Haitian capital. 

Just a few days since the residents’ protest, the shutdown of Péligre is already hitting Port-au-Prince hard. Hospitals, businesses and homes that depend on electricity from EDH are now without power. Darkness has increased the risk of crime and further disrupted daily life.

EDH confirmed it “ceased all production” on May 13 after “unidentified individuals” occupied the Péligre facility. In a May 15 statement, the government-run utility company urged authorities to investigate and protect the plant, warning that its equipment is expensive and hard to replace.

Yet for many in the capital, blackouts are nothing new.

“We’ve been living in darkness for years,” said Jhonn Joseph, a communications specialist. “At this point, I feel like we’re affecting the blackout more than it’s affecting us.”

Syntya Belizaire, a medical biologist and entrepreneur in Delmas, agrees with Joseph. She said she routinely charges her phone at neighbors’ homes and uses a generator at times—though now she’s out of fuel.

“I rely on neighbors with inverters,” Belizaire said. “But without gas, it’s tough.”

Déborah Désir, a university student in Rue Duncombe, said the outage ruined her groceries and derailed her schoolwork. “I needed electricity to finish my assignments,” Désir said. “Now, nothing is done and my food is spoiled.”

Fuel shortage looms as Varreux terminal remains threatened

As Haiti’s energy crisis deepens, fuel shortages threaten to make things worse. On May 13, the Association of Petroleum and Energy Professionals (APPE) warned in a letter to Prime Minister Fils-Aimé of an imminent breakdown in the fuel supply chain.

The Varreux Terminal—the country’s main fuel depot—is in an area controlled by the Viv Ansanm gang alliance, which the U.S. has labeled a terrorist organization. Gangs are demanding exorbitant fees from fuel transporters, effectively blocking movement.

APPE condemned the obstruction and urged swift government intervention to avoid a total shutdown.

Between armed insecurity, blackouts and fuel supply disruptions, Haiti’s crisis is worsening by the day. The Péligre dam shutdown is just the latest public act of desperation—and a stark reminder of the state’s eroding authority.

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