Twenty-hour power outages are testing the tolerance of the residents of the
Dominican Republic’s second city Santiago and its surrounding areas. The situation is reportedly due to the removal from service of generating plants such as
Smith & Enron and Puerto Plata II, caused by overdue payments owed to the operating companies by the state electricity board, the CDEEE, according to the power authorities. Only 14 out of 73 traffic light systems were in operation yesterday, according to El Caribe, with predictable effects on the circulation of traffic in the city’s busy streets. Business and community leaders in the city are calling on the government to give the situation their urgent attention. The rector of PUCMM University Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado warned that the energy crisis combined with the increased electricity bills could provoke serious social unrest and called on politicians to demonstrate that they were looking after the interests of all Dominicans, and not just their own personal benefit. In its main editorial column, El Caribe awards Santiago with the title “Electric Cinderella”, saying that its experience of power cuts, while by no means unique, is one of the worst in the country. The writer reminds us that the government has promised to improve the situation, while showing no signs of doing so. The column ends with an appeal to the government to “end the abuse of the people of Santiago” and to find a quick solution to the problem.