There might be a lesson or two here.
This morning over some pancakes with maple syrup and Don Pedro salami, the lights which had gone out a few minutes earlier, came back. We knew they would since it was Friday and they use Tuesdays and Thursdays to open circuits for new installations or maintenance. Yesterday we had a 6 hour blackout. Okay, it was Thursday.
BUT, seconds later, the lights went out again. Okay, this is the DR and we "know" that nothing is perfect. The day wears on and on, I send to get diesel for the generator, no problem (well except for the @#$^price of it!!).
Now it is 5:00 p.m. and wife is really irritated and starts to call neighbors to see if they have lights and somehow our automatic switch has messed up and not switched back. But no, Do?a Pilar called and told me that she had lights "from the street." So I go hummm...WTF?
Then I go across the street to our friend's office. Their generator is on, too. Then I go a short block over to the colmado and no, they are on "street" power, too. More hummmm.
I go to the Sky Max office next door...no, they are on "street" power. And I go across the street, to the Accessory Store (Soraya's) and no, she is on her generator. HUMMMM??? Three of the four corners are without lights and the rest have electricity.
We file complaints with Ede-Norte.
"Sir, what is your contract number?" Bla bla and finally they give you a complaint number...The repair brigade will come...
We call friends at the Ede-Norte to push things along. At close to 7 o'clock the crew showed up. By that time I had identified a fourth house without lights but just us 4! About 20 minutes later we had "street" lights.
This nearly 1800 pesos in diesel was due to a poor corroded connection of Ede-Norte. Will I ever recover it? I do not know, but I am talking to my lawyer on Monday to explore the possibility. After all the Horometer on my generator now has over 3000 hours on it. That means they owe me 4500 hours of electricity, by law!!
But why did I wait, and why did my neighbors wait so long before filing the complaints?
Lesson 1: Well we live in the DR and these blackouts are part of life here. We are accustomed to them. So we relaxed and figured it was "normal"
Lesson 2: You need to know how to file a complaint. You need your light bill in hand and what your contract number is.
Lesson 3: You need friends in Ede-Whatever....someone you can call and talk to, not the robots...
Lesson 4: You need to have friends in the neighborhood that you can ask about things like the water or the lights and who can ask you...if Pilar had not called I would still be waiting and going to buy more fuel.
So, things are back to "normal"....and I need a beer!
HB
This morning over some pancakes with maple syrup and Don Pedro salami, the lights which had gone out a few minutes earlier, came back. We knew they would since it was Friday and they use Tuesdays and Thursdays to open circuits for new installations or maintenance. Yesterday we had a 6 hour blackout. Okay, it was Thursday.
BUT, seconds later, the lights went out again. Okay, this is the DR and we "know" that nothing is perfect. The day wears on and on, I send to get diesel for the generator, no problem (well except for the @#$^price of it!!).
Now it is 5:00 p.m. and wife is really irritated and starts to call neighbors to see if they have lights and somehow our automatic switch has messed up and not switched back. But no, Do?a Pilar called and told me that she had lights "from the street." So I go hummm...WTF?
Then I go across the street to our friend's office. Their generator is on, too. Then I go a short block over to the colmado and no, they are on "street" power, too. More hummmm.
I go to the Sky Max office next door...no, they are on "street" power. And I go across the street, to the Accessory Store (Soraya's) and no, she is on her generator. HUMMMM??? Three of the four corners are without lights and the rest have electricity.
We file complaints with Ede-Norte.
"Sir, what is your contract number?" Bla bla and finally they give you a complaint number...The repair brigade will come...
We call friends at the Ede-Norte to push things along. At close to 7 o'clock the crew showed up. By that time I had identified a fourth house without lights but just us 4! About 20 minutes later we had "street" lights.
This nearly 1800 pesos in diesel was due to a poor corroded connection of Ede-Norte. Will I ever recover it? I do not know, but I am talking to my lawyer on Monday to explore the possibility. After all the Horometer on my generator now has over 3000 hours on it. That means they owe me 4500 hours of electricity, by law!!
But why did I wait, and why did my neighbors wait so long before filing the complaints?
Lesson 1: Well we live in the DR and these blackouts are part of life here. We are accustomed to them. So we relaxed and figured it was "normal"
Lesson 2: You need to know how to file a complaint. You need your light bill in hand and what your contract number is.
Lesson 3: You need friends in Ede-Whatever....someone you can call and talk to, not the robots...
Lesson 4: You need to have friends in the neighborhood that you can ask about things like the water or the lights and who can ask you...if Pilar had not called I would still be waiting and going to buy more fuel.
So, things are back to "normal"....and I need a beer!
HB