Anyone who wants to have a vacation in the Dominican Republic must know the  electrical outlet and plug types in that country in order to maximize the use of their electronic gadgets and appliances. When the plugs of these electronic gadgets and appliances do not match, there must be an adapter at hand. In Dominican Republic, the voltage is 110-120 volts similar to Canada and the USA, with the primary electrical outlet types being the North American Non-grounded and North American Grounded. These two types of sockets in the Dominican Republic are also known as Type A JIS C 8303 or NEMA 1-15 for the North American non-grounded and Type B NEMA 5-15 for the North American grounded.

In terms of electrical outlets, aside from the Type A and Type B in homes and establishments in the Dominican Republic, there are also some hotels in this country that still have the Type J Swiss 3-Pin SEV 1011 electrical outlet.

Type A JIS C 8303 or NEMA 1-15 (North American Non-Grounded)

Type A NEMA 1-15 plug and outlet

The NEMA 1-15 is mostly found in North America and in the east coast of South America,  used for smaller devices that do not really need a ground connection, as well as in parts of the Caribbean region like the Dominican Republic. The NEMA 1-15 is also known as the Type A North American/Japanese 2-blade Eletrical adapter plug and electrical outlet. It also has the technical name North American 15 A/125 V ungrounded.

The NEMA 1-15 is a flat blade attachment plug that uses two flat parallel pins or blades. Older designs allow the blades to be inserted in either way; however, contemporary  NEMA 1-15 plugs are designed with the neutral blade wider than the live blade allowing just one way of plugging and ensuring that the polarized plug is inserted appropriately into the electrical outlet. The new design of NEMA 1-15 changed so much that it will not fit in the old type of NEMA 1-15 electrical outlet.  There is also another socket that is commonly used in Japan, the JIS X 8303 Class II (Japanese 15 A/100 V ungrounded) which is similar to the NEMA 1-15, the only difference being the stricter dimensional requirements for the plug housing, marking, and mandatory testing and approval.

Type A NEMA 1-15 Adapter

With the NEMA 1-15 adapter, the receptacle end will accept any standard household plug in the Dominican Republic, aside from the Type M South African SABS1661 plug, which is also known as the Old British BS-546 Large plug. The blades of this adapter that is usually needed by tourists when they are spending some time in the Dominican Republic are 6.4mm long, 1.5mm thick, and are spaced 12.7mm apart. The NEMA 1-15 plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded which is very important. Although the NEMA 1-15 looks similar to the plugs of the U.S. and Canada and the appliance and electronic gadgets might be manufactured in the said countries, an adapter might still be needed because of the grounding and polarization requirements in the Dominican Republic.

In the NEMA 1-15, grounding is done by the third, round pin located beneath the two vertical blades on the plug. On the other hand, polarization is done by the left vertical blade being taller than the right one. If the plug does have grounding or polarization and the electrical socket does not have one, it would be physically impossible to insert the plug into the electrical socket. If this happens to a tourist in the Dominican Republic and there is also no adapter present, that person might not be able to use his or her electronic gadgets and appliances.

Type B NEMA 5-15 (North American Grounded)

Type B NEMA 5-15 Plug

The Type B NEMA 5-15 is often used in North and Central America as well as Japan, and it is also what is used in the Dominican Republic. It is a class I plug that has two flat parallel prongs and a grounding pin, rated at 15 amps. In Japan, this kind of plug and electrical outlet is the standard. Similar to Type A NEMA 1-15 plugs, the NEMA 5-15 is also one of the most dangerous plugs in the world because the prongs are not insulated. The black covering that is supposed to cover the plug body is lacking hence if the plug is pulled halfway and the prongs are still inserted in the electrical outlet, there might be some accidents like electrocution.

Type B NEMA 5-15 Outlet

Type B Adapter

The Type B NEMA 5-15 is also compatible with any standard household plug, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. For the specifications, the Type B NEMA 5-15 has blade contacts 6.4mm tall, 15mm thick, and are spaced 12.7mm apart. The grounding pin, on the other hand, is 4.8mm in diameter. Although the Type B NEMA 5-15 is grounded, it is not polarized.

Type J Swiss 3-Pin SEV 1011 Electrical Outlet

Type J Swiss SEV 1011 plug

The Type J Swiss SEV 1011 adapter would allow appliances and gadgets that have a different type of plug to work in  the Dominican Republic. The receptacle end of the Type J Swiss SEV 1011 is compatible to any standard household plug except the Type M South African SABS1661, also known as the Old British BS-546. Also, the pins of the Type J Swiss SEC 1011 are 4.0mm in diameter, similar to the Europlug, the only difference being the presence of a third pin to allow grounded connections. The Type J Swiss SEV 1011 is commonly used in appliances and gadgets in the Dominican Republic. The Type J Swiss SEV 1011 adapter will work well with the Type J Swiss SEC 1011 electrical outlet present in some of the hotels in Dominican Republic. Europlugs could be plugged into Swiss outlets but the connection will not be grounded. Swiss plugs and adapters, like the Type J Swiss SEV 1011, can only be plugged into Swiss electrical outlets. The Type J is almost similar to the Brazilian N standard type as well but the earth pin of the Type J is further away from the center line of the type N (5mm instead of 3mm). Most of the time, this kind of connector system is used for applications in  the   Dominican Republic that use up to 10 amps. If it will go beyond 10 amps, the electronic gadget or appliance must be wired permanently to an electrical supply system with appropriate branch circuit protection or be connected to a main system with appropriate high power industrial connector.

Type J Swiss SEV 1011 Outlet

In addition, the Dominican Republic has a two-pin plug with the same pin shape, size, and spacing, but with a flattened, hexagonal form. This will fit into electrical outlets as well as CEE 7/16 electrical outlet. Also, among all the pins available, the Type J Swiss SEV 1011 is the most dangerous in the world because the prongs are not insulated. Compared to other plugs like type C, G, I, L, or N, that have a black covering in its pins, the Type J of  the Dominican Republic does not have this covering, similar to Type A and Type B plugs. Other countries aside from the Dominican Republic that uses the Type J Swiss SEV 1011 plug, adapter, and electrical outlet are El Salvador, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Maldives, Rwanda, and Switzerland.

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