Million dollar debts held by the government with the power generators have caused the Dominican Republic’s parallel energy system to again become the leading provider of power. Due to electrical deficiencies, most businesses in the country, and many middle- and upper-class homes, have some system of alternate power. Now, with the government dishing out more hours of blackouts than of service, companies are resorting to the use of their diesel- or gasoline-fuelled generators. Hoy newspaper reports today on the high cost of running such equipment these days, given that prices of diesel and gasoline are at record highs. Most businesses cannot pass on the cost of the increased fuel to their customers, causing them to experience greater losses in these difficult times. The newspaper reports that the situation has increased power costs by as much as 300%. The Superintendent of Power recently stated that electric bills would not proportionately reflect the increase in power outages.