With the payment of US$4,500,000 by the government to the Smith-Enron corporation for the purchase of fuel for its power station in Puerto Plata, the electricity service in the D.R. improved substantially last week. Power cuts were reduced in length and frequency, and the usual complaints heard from almost all sectors of Dominican society were quieted, at least for the time being.
Another private electricity supplier, DESTEC-Turbine Energy, has been reported to be testing one of the power plants, Los Mina III, whose maintenance and operation was awarded to that company by the Corporaci´On Dominicana de Electricidad (CDE). Los Mina III is expected to be incorporated into the CDE’s distribution network by the middle of May, and Los Mina IV, also under the supervision and operation of DESTEC-Turbine Energy, is expected to be on line by mid-June. The addition of these two power plants could provide up to 220,000 kilowatts per day, yet it is feared that the additional cost to the CDE could put too much of a financial burden on the state-owned electricity company, which currently runs a deficit of RD$250 million per month. With the electricity that can be provided by DESTEC-Turbine Energy, that debt could go up by RD$100 million.
According to the Listin Diario newspaper, the CDE is currently generating 886,000 kilowatts per day for a national demand of more than 1,000,000.
3-9 May 1996