President Hip?lito Mej?a appointed former president of the Governmental Commission of Power, George Reynoso, as his new Superintendent of Power, to replace engineer Julio Cross. During his tenure as superintendent, Cross had often confronted the power companies, obliging them to comply with the Electricity Law in areas unfavorable to the companies but beneficial to consumers, including the issue of refunds to consumers for blackouts and an announced rate reduction. Results of a tariffs study conducted by outside consultants indicate that Dominicans are paying more than they should be and Cross was suggesting that bills be reduced by 8-17% this year out of fairness to consumers.
President Mej?a sent his former Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Siqui? Ng de la Rosa, to preside over the controversial Plan Renove, which is overseeing the import of 4,243 vehicles purchased with government borrowing abroad in the form of taxis, SUVs, forklifts, trucks, buses and minibuses. One of the latest scandals regarding the Plan Renove was that a new company had been created, called the Centro de Administraci?n de Valores, to increase the charges to vehicle beneficiaries, allegedly to fund the purchase of SUVs. El Caribe says that when appointed Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Ng (formerly the successful mayor of San Francisco de Macor?s) had specifically requested not to be assigned the responsibility for the controversial plan.