Electricity - How can you compare 1st & 3rd world

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Sarah

Guest
8. Electricity: 7.16 cents in Spain, 14 cents in the DR
Mario Mendez, Hoy newspaper?s economic editor, points out the
differences between government relations with power distributors in
Spain and Dominican government relations with Spanish companies
here. He points out that while in Spain the highest power rate is
7.16 US cents per kilowatt, in the DR the average rate is 14 cents.
In Spain, the power companies have requested an increase in the
power rate to pay for infrastructure upgrades after weaknesses in
the lines were exposed by winter storms. The Spanish government
officers say the increase is not justified. The government of
Catalunya is considering penalties against the power distributors
for blackouts.
In the Dominican Republic, the government has felt sorry for the
power distributors and added numerous additional privileges and
benefits over and above those stipulated in the contracts. The
largest power distributor in the DR is a Spanish company, Union
Fenosa, which frequently blacks out the power to certain
neighborhoods.
 
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GringoCarlos

Guest
Re: Electricity - How can you compare 1st & 3rd wo

Gee, I guess you are right. For a generator in Spain to produce electricity and end up with a profit after selling it for 7.16 cents a KwHr, he also has to pay his employees on average, the equivalent of 25,000 DR pesos a month too, which includes 2 Months pay equivalent per year as bonuses, and not just one month's pay at Christmas as is required here, by law, in the DR.

I am also mindful that wages only represent about 20% of a company's expenses, so I guess that the electric generators and distributors in the DR must REALLY get socked somewhere else in their expenses, because they sure as HECK aren't paying their employees DR $25k a month, in order to be required to charge 14 cents a KwHr here!

BTW, I usually end up paying a lot closer to 20 cents a KwHr here in the DR than 14 cents. Guess I am paying for someone else too.

This is why AES is a NASDAQ growth stock, and everyone wants in (yes, even now). Things like the FACTURAS that AES can generate, and NOT the electricity, are the sole reason AES is in all of these 3rd world electricity markets, because they can't get away with this nonsense in a 1st world country.
 
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hillbilly

Guest
Ah, butyou have it 24/7/365 @60hz and 110v.

And i think i would check that rate. i don't remember Public Service being that expensive....but whatever, we never had to get new appl;iances because of electrical spikes that burned them up!!

HB, Ol'ex-ridgewooder.....
 
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Andy B

Guest
Re: Electricity - How can you compare 1st & 3rd wo

We pay $3.95rd ($.23usd)per kilowatt in Las Galeras. This has to be almost the highest rate in the DR. The electric company is private and by contract is not responsible for damage caused by their electrical problems. Add the $2,000usd cost of blown equipment and lost revenue here at the hotel because of a problem at the company's meter last January (the common/negative wire corroded off because of their faulty installation and they dropped 220v into our two 110v lines) and the per kilo price goes outta sight.
 
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Sarah

Guest
John/Doug/etc: We're speaking about the county...

called Dominican Republic, not the city of Santo Domingo (although since DR is 3rd world, so is SD).

Population in Spain is 40,037,995 (July 2001 est.). Population in DR is 8,581,477 (July 2001 est.). EVERY person in a 1st world country pays for their electricity, this is not true in 3rd world countries.

My point is that stories comparing the DR to North American countries, European countries, other 1st world countries are a complete waste of time and energy - on the part of the reporters as well as the readers. Just trying to put things in proper perspective.

Sarah
 
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Doug

Guest
Sarah

Is this what defines a third world countrie....how many pay for thier power? The Dominican Republic has some of the most advanced telecommunications in the world, Santo Domingo has real Estate way more valuable than say Toronto's waterfront,it might not be a New York City, but the Metropolis' are far from third world. Yes the countrie is behind in the times....but as far as the major cities go......you can find,do,eat,and be entertained just as well as in any other major city in the world!
 
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Sarah

Guest
1st/2nd/3rd/4th

If you have the time/interest, read this: http://dr1.com/board/index.cgi?read=76858.

To answer your question, no not entirely, only in part. But nor does telecom, real estate, "find, do, eat, and be entertained" make a 1st world country.

Respectfully, Sarah
 
C

CES

Guest
Re: John/Doug/etc: We're speakin... (Hi Sarah :)

I like to refer to the DR as a developing nation, sort of side steps this nasty business of calling her a "third" world entity. Yes you can do a multitude of actives in Santo Domingo, it's just that you are surrounded by a 'third' rate infrastructure.

. . . CES
 
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Sarah

Guest
Re: John/Doug/etc: We're speakin... (Hi CES :)

Emerging ... developing ... yes. It is a beautiful place ... one that has stolen my heart. And I don't want to do her a disservice by misrepresenting the state she's in. I think if more people understood, they'd do more than spend a week or two at a resort. Sure, that MAY help the economy (actually very likely stuffs the pockets of foreigners who own the resorts), but what does it do to the ecology, or the economy if/when the tourists stop coming? Things really fall apart then. What if ... all the tourists, instead of spending their money at the resorts, invested in micro-businesses ventures, or supported organizations who offer true help, or took a "vacation with a purpose"??? I don't know how to promote that idea. But I think it would go a long way in making things better in the long run.

Sarah
 
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Loren

Guest
Worlds apart

1st world: NATO aligned countries
2nd world: Warsaw pact aligned countries
3rd world: Non-aligned countries

This would place the Dominican Republic solidly in the camp of a first world country.

Economically the Dominican Republic ranks about in the middle socio-economically when compared with the 180 or so recognized countries. The Dominican Republic is not a poor country unless you compare it with one of the richest countries. It earns and has the standard of living around the median as countries go. It also has a very rapidly growing economy despite the worldwide slump. There is a steady growth in foreign investment even despite some of the looney macroeconomic policies we have seen in recent years. The Dominican Republic is not a poor country and it is disingenuous to think of it as so.

BTW, the electrical problems are do to incompetence and malfeasance, not lack of resources. The same as California, that is a case of false deregulation. The worst of both worlds is what they have.