Just opinion again or can you back it up without putting it off on some vague "others"?
- Thread starter Dolores
- Start date
Electricity rate hikes put on hold
The current President of the DR seems to be doing a very good job of exposing and dealing with corruption and ineptitude in many sectors. I'd suggest giving him a fair chance. That said you may be right about some level of corruption but time will tell.
Fans are the best, once you deal with the humidity.
I like AC on just enough to dry things out and keep it that way and then keep the air flowing with fans. When it's not too humid I prefer fans only and just switch the AC on long enough to dry things out before bed and then the AC is OFF!
If the Dominican Republic was to go private with the electrical generation system they would need a very strong, independent regulatory agency that put the consumer first or in my opinion they would be going from the frying pan into the fire.
Even countries with private power generation systems have government regulatory oversight. It would be a lot easier to keep you eye on a few regulators than an entire electrical generation system.
Anecdote on AC. I guagua'd to the EASTSIDE today to go to Bravo and PriceSmart in San Isidro. Very underpowered AC on the guagua but I was comfortable. Because I had so much crap I had to Uber back to Boca Chica. The Uber dude had the AC cranked up and I thought I was in Canada. Super cold and not comfortable at all. However, the guy was so nice and tolerant of my lousy Spanish that I didn't ask him to turn it down. I think I could live the rest of my life without AC and not care. I do like our fans though.
I live under AC.
I prefer to be comfortable.
I pay my electric bill without a problem if the number kwh used looks reasonable within my normal pattern of use.
No complaints.
Cause I know my money sits in air conditioned comfort inside of a bank.
I am just happy when the electric company is kicking out juice.
Cause when they are not, I am not sitting in the dark.
But the AC is not working.
As write this...humidity is 77% in the room I am sitting in.
Temp is 25.8 C
My 3000 - 4000 DOP I have to fork over each month is worth it to me.
But I would certainly appreciate it if my monthly bill declined because they ferreted out all the waste, fraud and abuse in the system...
I prefer to be comfortable.
I pay my electric bill without a problem if the number kwh used looks reasonable within my normal pattern of use.
No complaints.
Cause I know my money sits in air conditioned comfort inside of a bank.
I am just happy when the electric company is kicking out juice.
Cause when they are not, I am not sitting in the dark.
But the AC is not working.
As write this...humidity is 77% in the room I am sitting in.
Temp is 25.8 C
My 3000 - 4000 DOP I have to fork over each month is worth it to me.
But I would certainly appreciate it if my monthly bill declined because they ferreted out all the waste, fraud and abuse in the system...
No, I will allow others to respond on how many power plants are actually owned by the government.
Some think all power plants are owned by the government. That certainly is not true, but the areas where power distribution is controlled by EDE's that distribution and pricing is set by the government run , incompetent and corrupt, EDEs. If they change their name, they won't change the problem.
The DR regulates the price of many things, take fuels for instance. So If there was a private system set up to replace all the government power distribution companies who are very corrupt and inefficient, I would expect regulations,
Since I moved to the DR, I have wanted to see the government removed as much from the power picture as possible. I have many bad experiences that caused me to keep that strong desire.
Power generation is too important of a utility to remove government completely from the equation.
I would rather have a few corrupt officials lining their pockets and my bill to be higher than a CEO making decisions that endanger my life and lifestyle to make his bonus and enrich the investment accounts of his shareholders.
Since I moved to the 🇩🇴 I have found the DRGOV to be much less intrusive and invasive in my life than the government of country of origin.
I would rather have a few corrupt officials lining their pockets and my bill to be higher than a CEO making decisions that endanger my life and lifestyle to make his bonus and enrich the investment accounts of his shareholders.
Since I moved to the 🇩🇴 I have found the DRGOV to be much less intrusive and invasive in my life than the government of country of origin.
I know all power plants in 🇩🇴 are not owned by DRGOV.
Facts are a powerful thing.
Thanks, Vegas, I suspect many other power plants are not owned by the DR government even if they are hooked to the EDE's grid.
I know all power plants in 🇩🇴 are not owned by DRGOV.
Facts are a powerful thing.
actually cepm in Punta cana area is private company I think they are very good. power rarely goes out .. but you pay for it in which i am fine with it. Icome from NYC with con edsion huge bills
If you want to see the negative impacts of the transfer of government owned utilities to private companies, Google Fortis Belize power grid takeover. Fortis bought the Belize grid and immediately hiked up the rates to the point where the poor citizens couldn’t afford electricity anymore. Not the first time Fortis has done this in the Caribbean. The DR government may be inept at certain aspects of power grid management but electricity rates are still relatively low compared to other countries. The lesser of two evils, it would appear.
You make a great point. I mentioned before that I read where the rates of Jamaica and the Bahamas are exorbitant compared to the DR's. I'm not going to look it up but I suspect it's either the lack of govt subsidies or private ownership.
The electric company in the Bahamas is government owned. But, my country is more corrupt than even Ukraine. My electric bill per month was $800-$1,200US per month there. Here I’m paying a measly $110 max per month for the same electric consumption.
The ever-increasing cost of electricity plus the know and unpredictable downtimes when there is no power and being under the thumb of whoever is in control is enough to convince me to go to alternative possibilities.
At a bare minimum install a few...4-6+ solar panels, 4+ of the new lithium gel batteries (insert your own bare minimums plus redundancy numbers) with a good invertor, and the required components and wiring to run a fridge, lights, fans, and entertainment equipment. Cost well under 10KUSD and as low as 6 or 7k at a guess, if sourced well, and catching a break on sales, possibly buying locally and little patients.
At a bare minimum install a few...4-6+ solar panels, 4+ of the new lithium gel batteries (insert your own bare minimums plus redundancy numbers) with a good invertor, and the required components and wiring to run a fridge, lights, fans, and entertainment equipment. Cost well under 10KUSD and as low as 6 or 7k at a guess, if sourced well, and catching a break on sales, possibly buying locally and little patients.
In campo, I am also considering other alternatives.The ever-increasing cost of electricity plus the know and unpredictable downtimes when there is no power and being under the thumb of whoever is in control is enough to convince me to go to alternative possibilities.
At a bare minimum install a few...4-6+ solar panels, 4+ of the new lithium gel batteries (insert your own bare minimums plus redundancy numbers) with a good invertor, and the required components and wiring to run a fridge, lights, fans, and entertainment equipment. Cost well under 10KUSD and as low as 6 or 7k at a guess, if sourced well, and catching a break on sales, possibly buying locally and little patients.
After examining the cost of connecting to the grid I have decided to put the money I would have spent doing that into generating my own electricity (solar and wind with a generator back up).
That would also be my plan assuming that my alternatives give me all the power and redundancy I require. I would also implement Wind if possible, also a river should I be so fortunate to have one to drop a turbine into. A small portable generator would be my last resort. I would incorporate passive design to minimize artificial cooling as well.
More on that later in another thread