ELECTRICITY SECURITY IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
What We Have, What We Are Already Using, and What Large AI Data Centres Could Mean
The question is not whether Trinidad and Tobago has electricity.
The more important question is whether Trinidad and Tobago has enough reliable, deliverable electricity to serve existing households, businesses and industries while accommodating major new users—particularly large AI data centres—without placing additional pressure on the national electricity system.
As with water, capacity on paper is not necessarily the same as capacity reliably available to consumers.
Trinidad and Tobago has a substantial generating fleet. But before adding hundreds of megawatts of new demand, we need to understand what the country has, what it is already using, and what additional infrastructure will be required.
1. WHAT TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO HAS
The following is the generation-capacity table compiled for this analysis, showing the capacity by generation type.
| GENERATION FACILITY | GAS MW | STEAM MW | DIESEL MW | TOTAL MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TGU | 450 | 270 | — | 720 |
| TPL | — | 720 | 1.5 | 721.5 |
| PGEN Point Lisas | — | 838 | — | 838 |
| PGEN Penal | — | 236 | — | 236 |
| PGEN Port of Spain | — | 270 | — | 270 — shown for historical reference |
| Scarborough | — | — | 11 | 11 |
| Cove | — | — | 65.6 | 65.6 |
| TOTAL MW OF ELECTRICITY | 2,592.1 MW |
The Ministry of Energy confirms TGU's 720-MW capacity, POWERGEN's Point Lisas, Port of Spain and Penal facilities, TPL's 225-MW gas turbines plus 1.5-MW black-start generator, and the 65.6-MW Cove and 11-MW Scarborough facilities.
PGEN Port of Spain is included in the table as historical capacity, but is not being treated as additional current capacity in our analysis.
The purpose of this table is to show the scale of the generating assets. It should not be interpreted to mean that 2,592.1 MW is continuously available to consumers at any given moment.
That distinction becomes extremely important when we consider AI.
2. WHAT ARE WE ALREADY USING?
T&TEC recorded a national peak electricity demand of:
1,456.2 MW
on May 15, 2024.
The Commission reported that this followed several successive records during the same month: 1,422 MW, 1,447.1 MW, 1,448 MW and 1,455.8 MW before reaching 1,456.2 MW. T&TEC also reported 2,037 MW of installed capacity at the time and noted that the higher demand resulted in increased natural-gas usage.
This gives us an important distinction:
| ELECTRICITY INDICATOR | MW |
|---|---|
| Generation capacity shown in our evidence table | 2,592.1 |
| T&TEC-reported installed capacity in 2024 | 2,037 |
| Recorded national peak demand | 1,456.2 |
The difference between installed capacity and peak demand should not automatically be called "spare electricity."
Plants require maintenance and reserves. Some capacity may be unavailable at particular times, and electricity must also be transmitted through the national grid.
The question therefore is not simply:
How many megawatts do we have on paper?
It is:
How much dependable electricity can the system deliver when existing consumers and industries are already drawing power?
3. THEN COMES THE AI DEMAND
In July 2026, the Government signed memoranda of understanding concerning two proposed large-scale data-centre developments.
The proposed requirements are:
| PROPOSED AI / DATA CENTRE | INITIAL CAPACITY | POTENTIAL EXPANSION |
|---|---|---|
| EY-related data centre | 300 MW | — |
| Hummingbird AI | 150 MW | Up to 500 MW |
| COMBINED | 450 MW | Up to 800 MW |
The Government's announcement describes the EY project as a proposed 300-MW data centre and Hummingbird as a proposed 150-MW AI infrastructure and data-centre facility, with potential longer-term expansion to 500 MW. These are currently framework/due-diligence proposals, not 800 MW already connected to the grid.
But the size of the proposed demand deserves serious examination.
4. PUTTING AI AGAINST WHAT WE ALREADY USE
| COMPARISON | MW |
|---|---|
| Recorded national peak demand | 1,456.2 |
| Initial proposed AI demand | 450 |
| Potential AI demand | 800 |
The initial 450 MW would be approximately:
30.9% of the country's recorded peak demand.
At the potential 800 MW level, the AI load would be approximately:
54.9% of the recorded peak demand.
This does not mean that AI would consume 55% of Trinidad and Tobago's annual electricity.
It demonstrates the scale of the proposed new load relative to the electricity system's existing peak demand.
That is a very different—and more useful—comparison.
5. WHERE WILL THE ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY COME FROM?
This is the question that follows naturally.
If 450 MW of new demand is introduced, and potentially 800 MW in the longer term, Trinidad and Tobago must determine how that electricity will be supplied.
That could involve:
additional generation;
additional natural-gas supply;
renewable generation;
battery storage;
transmission upgrades;
new substations;
or a combination of these.
T&TEC's own 2024 report provides an important warning: when electricity demand increased, natural-gas usage also increased.
Therefore, the AI question is also an energy-resource question.
6. SOLAR: HOW MUCH CAN IT CONTRIBUTE?
Trinidad and Tobago is increasing its renewable-energy capacity.
For this article, the solar projects are particularly relevant because they allow us to ask a straightforward question:
How much new solar capacity would be required to make a meaningful contribution to hundreds of megawatts of new AI demand?
| SOLAR FACILITY | SOLAR MW | LAND USE | COST / FUNDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar Farm — Shell/BP Brechin Castle | 92 MW | 587 acres / 237.55 hectares | Agreement |
| Orange Grove | 20 MW | 98.8422 acres / 40 hectares | Agreement |
| Piarco Solar Park | 0.5 MW | 1.54 hectares / 3.805 acres | EU Grant — TT$20 million |
| TOTAL SOLAR | 112.5 MW |
The Ministry identifies the Brechin Castle project as a 92.2-MW utility-scale solar project and states that it was expected to deliver its full capacity to the national grid by December 2025. The Piarco Solar Park is a 0.5-MW facility.
Using the figures in our table, 450 MW of AI demand is approximately four times the listed solar capacity, while 800 MW is approximately seven times it.
That does not make solar unimportant.
It makes the question more practical:
If renewable energy is expected to supply a significant portion of future industrial electricity demand, how much additional renewable generation, storage and grid infrastructure will be required—and where will it be located?
And that brings us to another national-resource question: land.
Large-scale solar requires land, and Trinidad and Tobago must balance renewable-energy development with agriculture, food security, environmental protection and other land uses.
7. THE GRID IS PART OF THE EQUATION
Generating electricity is only one part of the system.
T&TEC operates the country's single electricity grid, through which bulk power is supplied to Trinidad and Tobago.
A major new industrial customer therefore requires more than generation.
It may require:
high-voltage connections;
substations;
transformers;
transmission upgrades;
protection systems;
redundancy; and
additional system investment.
T&TEC's tariff structure itself recognizes the importance of reserved transmission and distribution capacity for large customers.
So when we ask whether Trinidad has enough electricity for AI, the question must include:
Can the national grid deliver that electricity reliably to the location where the data centres will operate?
8. AI WILL NOT BE THE ONLY FUTURE DEMAND
The proposed AI projects are entering an electricity system that will also have to accommodate normal growth in household, commercial and industrial consumption.
The Government has also announced a separate MOU concerning the potential refurbishment and recommissioning of the Point Lisas iron and steel plant.
Steel production can be electricity-intensive, but I have not found sufficient authoritative evidence to publish the approximately 700-MW figure as the confirmed requirement of that project.
The important point is simply this:
AI is not the only potential new industrial demand that must be incorporated into national electricity planning.
9. THE PUBLIC-INTEREST QUESTION
The issue should therefore not be framed as:
"Should Trinidad and Tobago have AI data centres?"
The better question is:
"What will it take to supply them without compromising the reliability, affordability and resilience of electricity for existing consumers?"
Before major AI facilities move from proposals to actual grid connections, the public should know:
Exactly how much electricity each facility will require.
Its expected average and peak demand.
When the demand will come onto the grid.
What additional generation will be required.
How much additional natural gas may be required.
What transmission and substation upgrades will be needed.
Who will finance those upgrades.
What dependable reserve capacity will remain for existing consumers.
What role renewable energy and storage will play.
How other future industrial projects will be incorporated into the same national demand forecast.
10. THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS QUESTION
Electricity is a shared national infrastructure resource.
Households need it.
Businesses need it.
Existing industries need it.
New industries need it.
AI data centres will need it—potentially in very large quantities.
The concern is therefore not necessarily that any one project is unreasonable.
The concern is that multiple projects can each appear manageable when considered separately, while collectively placing much greater demands on the same national infrastructure.
That is the real capacity question.
Who gets priority when demand grows faster than dependable capacity and the grid's ability to deliver it?
CONCLUSION
Trinidad and Tobago has substantial electricity-generating assets.
But nameplate capacity is not the same as dependable available capacity, and generation capacity is not the same as transmission capacity.
T&TEC recorded a peak demand of 1,456.2 MW in May 2024, against reported installed capacity of 2,037 MW.
Now consider the proposed AI demand:
450 MW initially
and potentially:
800 MW
The initial proposal is equivalent to approximately 31% of the country's recorded peak demand.
The potential 800-MW scenario is equivalent to approximately 55%.
That is large enough to require more than a discussion about whether Trinidad and Tobago has "enough generators."
The country needs to establish:
Where will the additional electricity come from?
Can the grid deliver it?
What additional generation, storage and transmission infrastructure will be required?
How much will it cost?
Who will pay for it?
And most importantly:
Can Trinidad and Tobago accommodate these new industrial loads while continuing to provide reliable electricity to the consumers and industries already dependent on the system?
Trinidad and Tobago does not have to reject AI.
But before committing hundreds of additional megawatts of national electricity demand to major new industrial facilities, the capacity, infrastructure requirements, costs and protection of existing consumers should be publicly demonstrated.
That is not opposition to investment.
It is responsible national infrastructure planning.
