The government is about to finalize an agreement with private power generators regarding arrears. The government had offered to make a payment of US$40 million on US$102 million in arrears, leaving the remaining US$62 million pending for the next government. The private generators rejected the agreement. Furthermore, the candidate most likely to win the next election, Hipólito Mejía warned the generators that they should collect now. Of the debt, US$70 million is carried over from the Balaguer administration. As a result of the impasse, the generators threatened to disconnect their plants, which would result in long blackouts. The new agreement provides for making payments of US$2.5 million per month for 30 months. Financial fiduciary arrangements are being set up with the Banco de Reservas Citibank and the CDE to ensure that the funds will be paid automatically, regardless of who is in power in the next government. "Today we can say that with each party giving in we have reached a fair agreement," said Rolando González Bunster, speaking for the private generators. He said that only minor details are missing to be worked out to finalize the agreement.
