Power barge

Army Corps of Engineers' power barge "Andrew J. Weber" to the Dominican Republic for emergency power generation. During the 11 years the barge remained in the Dominican Republic, it produced nearly a billion kilowatt hours of power and helped to maintain voltage levels in the eastern part of the country. The project also facilitated the transfer of technical training to the Dominican staff assigned to the barge. However, the project proved only a stopgap measure and the country suffers more shortages of electrical power than when the barge first arrived. Several lessons were learned. (1) Despite its temporary value, the loan of the barge may have allowed the Dominican Electric Corporation (CDE) and the government to ignore seeking long-term solutions to the country's electrical energy problems. (2) CDE frequently lacked qualified supervisors to staff all of the barge's operating shifts, thus lowering the crew's efficiency and posing dangers to the entire operation. (3) CDE had difficulty obtaining the financing needed for counterpart contributions, due, in part, to its reliance on government institutions that were not economically sound.