El Caribe newspaper reports that the government has told the two Spanish electricity distribution companies, Edenorte and Edesur, that under no circumstances will it allow their supposed financial problems to serve as an excuse for the distributors to pressure or demand injections of capital from the state. The government, a 50.01 percent owner of the capitalized power companies, claims that any financial problems affecting the two companies are a direct result of inefficient management.
In a letter sent to the companies signed by Minister of Finance Jose Lois Malkum, the government clarifies that it has invested at least RD$22 million into the sector over the past three years and has granted all the distributors? requests for assistance in conducting efficient management practices. The letter also says that regardless of the help given to them, the companies continue to operate ineffectively. The government acknowledges it owes the companies US$31 million, but says that this amount is offset by the debt owed by the distributors to the state power utility (CDE) for RD$608 million, which is about the equivalent.
The letter was sent in response to a request the Union Fenosa companies made to the government on 16 December, which was leaked to the press through El Caribe newspaper and published in its entirety in the newspaper on 8 January. The Union Fenosa companies requested that the government urgently inject US$200 million into the company, citing their burgeoning internal debt that stands at RD$14.5 billion, of which half is owed to other Union Fenosa companies.
The government says it will not fork out the requested US$200 million. Malkum said the companies are not fulfilling their end of the deal, as they are not investing in a structure that will let them efficiently bill all their customers. He emphasized that the government has fulfilled a great many of its commitments, despite the unpopularity of some of the measures imposed.
According to El Caribe, the power distribution companies do not recognize the full amount of debt claimed by the two leading generation companies ? Itabo and Haina. Meanwhile, consumers are being caught in the middle of the dispute between the power distribution companies and the power generation companies.
