Uni?n Fenosa announced yesterday that it was willing to
hand over Ede-Norte and Ede-Sur to the government, but the government would have
to take on debts and obligations of US$550.8 million. Ede-Norte has outstanding
obligations of US$178.9 million and Ede-Sur has US$371.9 million in obligations.
If the deal were to go through, the administration of the distributors would
become the responsibility of the CDEEE. The proposal also includes the creation
of a completely separate entity to handle the commercialization of energy, and
therefore to better the image of the power distributors. Uni?n Fenosa is an
equal partner of the Dominican government in the management of the various
distributors. El Caribe views the new proposal as an alternative to intervention
by the IADB. The proposal also includes a three-year option to purchase the
shares held by the Uni?n Fenosa.