Unión Fenosa-Distribuidora del Norte and Unión Fenosa Distribuidora del Sur announced a 0.56% reduction in their billing as of 1 September. They attributed the decline to reductions in the exchange rate for the US$ dollar and inflation. The new rates reflect the change in the consumer price index that declined from May to June from 100.46 to 99.91 points. Likewise, the exchange rate declined from 16.01 to 15.92 during the same period. Unión Fenosa, the Spanish power company that won the bid for half of Santo Domingo and north and southern regions of the DR, explained that electricity bills may vary depending on the cost of petroleum, inflation and exchange rate to the US dollar. Last week, AES Distribuidora del Este announced a 5% increase in their billing. The increase was controversial as government authorities had repeatedly told Dominicans privatization would not bring an increase in the cost of electricity to consumers.
