The Trump administration approved the electrical interconnection project via a submarine cable between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, a strategic infrastructure project that will connect both electrical systems and strengthen the country's energy stability. The announcement was made by President Luis Abinader in January 2026, during a meeting with opinion leaders at the National Palace, at a time when Dominican electricity demand was growing at an average annual rate of over 4%, according to data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
The US authorization is an essential technical and diplomatic step for the execution of a cross-border project involving regulatory, environmental, and energy security permits. This type of project is particularly relevant in a country where investment in electrical infrastructure is a cornerstone for the development of energy-intensive sectors such as construction, industry, and real estate tourism.
Regional projection
International power grid interconnection projects allow countries to share generation capacity, improve resilience to system failures, and facilitate greater integration of renewable energy sources. In island regions like the Caribbean, these infrastructures are considered strategic by multilateral organizations due to their high dependence on fossil fuels and vulnerability to climate events.
According to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, the energy and water sector contributes around 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while national electricity consumption maintains a growth trend associated with the increase in tourism, industrial and residential activity.
From a technical standpoint, the United States Department of Energy states that international electrical interconnections “improve system resilience, reduce operational risks and allow for more efficient management of installed capacity,” according to its guidelines on regional electrical infrastructure.
“The interconnection project with Puerto Rico strengthens the security and stability of the Dominican electrical system,” said Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, during a luncheon with opinion leaders in the Green Room of the National Palace in January 2026.
From electrical interconnection to real estate infrastructure
The construction of a submarine electrical interconnection cable involves investments in marine studies, specialized engineering, converter stations in both territories, and the expansion of transmission networks. These works form part of the hard infrastructure that influences the location and size of new real estate, industrial, and tourism projects.
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