Electricity

Aruba adopted the North American voltage standard of 110 A.C. (60 cycles), the same as in the United States and Canada. The TV standard is NTSC so your home video camera will also play back on the hotel's TV sets or large screen projectors. Power outages are very rare.

All electricity on Aruba is generated by large steam turbines and generators by WEB (Water en Energiebedrijf Aruba NV) and distributed by ELMAR. The total power generating capacity of the steam turbines amounts to 149 megawatts. There is also a 22 megawatt gas turbine as a backup unit, while a 6.5 MW diesel generator serves as an emergency unit. "WEB N.V."produced an average of 60 MW, which together with a contracted supply from the refining company, is sufficient to comply with the average demand of 77 MW.

WEB N.V. delivers electricity to the distribution company N.V. Electriciteit-Maatschappij Aruba (Elmar). Electricity is supplied at a 60-Hertz frequency, and at 110 and 220 volts. Consumption of electricity has increased steadily since 1986 from 219,000 MWh to 701,577 MWh in 2003. This increase has been managed by a comprehensive and adequate electricity distribution network, which is continuously upgraded. Both WEB N.V. and N.V. Elmar are independently managed companies residing under the Government-owned holding company Utilities Aruba N.V.