An eight-second blackout introduced the 35 visiting dignitaries to life in the Dominican Republic yesterday morning, prior to the opening of the II African, Caribbean and Pacific Summit. It took about the eight seconds for the back-up power plant to kick in. Street power was restored three minutes later. News reports say the blackout was caused by a mishandling of a transformer at the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos government building, that tripped the circuit where the National Theater is located.
