The Senate Energy Matters Committee yesterday put the finishing touches on its report and recommendations to the plenary on the draft General Electricity Law. The Committee’s report will be sent to plenary today. The current draft law was sent to Congress after President Leonel Fernández rejected an earlier version passed by Congress. The bill would ease the privatization of CDE and create an Electricity Superintendency to regulate the production, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electric power in the Dominican Republic. It will be the responsibility of the Superintendency to set rates. Also created by the bill would be a National Energy Commission, chaired by the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency. The NEC would not only generally oversee the functioning of the Electricity Superintendency, but also (1) propose, adopt and oversee enforcement of regulations and norms on all energy matters; (2) handle all studies and policy development involving electricity, coal, gas, petroleum and its derivatives, and hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, solar and nonconventional power sources. The Senate Committee is expected to report favorably on the bill, while suggesting some modifications.
