Two articles, one in El Caribe and another in Hoy,
indicate that the electrical problem will be at the forefront of President
Mej?a?s visit to Spain. El Caribe says that Ede-Este favors new talks on the
contracts that many feel are too generous to the distributors and energy
providers. The proposal for a second round of talks to rectify the current
situation, which could include vertical integration, has been made by leading
executives of the Uni?n Fenosa during a recent visit. However, for the changes
to come about, including the necessary changes to the contracts, several laws
would have to be amended, including the General Law on Electricity, and the
government enterprise capitalization law.
Mark Tracey, the new head of the Itabo generating facility, rejected any form of
government intervention, saying that it would not resolve any of the current
problems.
Mario M?ndez, the economic editor for Hoy, writes that the 13 September visit of
President Mej?a to Spain could be of great importance to finding a solution to
the financial crisis affecting the sector. According to his sources, the
problems of the electricity distributors will be a central theme of meetings to
be held with the chief executives of Uni?n Fenosa and Spanish Prime Minister
Jos? Mar?a Aznar.
There is skepticism regarding this visit, too. As a presidential candidate,
Mej?a had promised to revise the privatization contracts, including that of the
Spanish distributor, signed during the Fern?ndez administration. Despite Uni?n
Fenosa having been an insider, brought in by the late Balaguer to
administratively counsel the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE), the
company was allowed to bid in the privatization process. Mej?a had promised to
change things in favor of the consumer. But once he traveled to Spain, these
promises were soon after abandoned and negotiations again bent in favor of the
private companies. Moreover, the Madrid Accord, negotiated in that Spanish city
during the present administration is regarded as having accommodated even more
the private companies in detriment of consumers.
According to these sources, the problems of Ede-Norte and Ede-Este will be
broached from a contractual standpoint, stemming from the letter written by the
CDEEE to the IADB, as well as in direct private talks with Uni?n Fenosa
executives and on a political level during talks with Aznar. These conversations
are considered to be central points of the announced trip.