The deficiencies plaguing the Dominican electricity sector are due to the slow application of rate adjustments, a series of unsustainable subsidies, the government’s deadbeat attitude towards its bills and the non-fulfillment of its obligations and guarantees, says Mercedes Gonalez of El Caribe. This litany of problems was contained in the rough draft of a document prepared by the power generators for the IMF, which was rejected by government officials. The document tells how the basic problems have been exacerbated, especially by the devaluation of the peso and the rise in petroleum prices, as well as the inability of the market to face the fluctuations in the macroeconomic situation. All of this is the direct result of government problems, say the generators, who are asking that the electricity rate be immediately increased in order for the system to obtain the necessary resources to cover its costs. The proposal is to increase the price of electricity from the distributors by US$0.06, from US$0.09 to US$0.15, per kilowatt/hour. The generators also suggest a prompt and transparent transfer of the Ede-Norte and Ede-Sur to the private sector.