The normally quiet residential areas, populated by upper- and upper middle-class income families, have joined in the protests against the incessant blackouts. El Caribe features a picture of residents in Santo Domingo Este picketing the offices of AES, and the story by Kaelis Bautista and Francis Mesa reports that Arroyo Hondo and Piantini are organizing street action to voice their discontent. Yesterday, 30 community organizations took to the street in front of the AES offices in Santo Domingo Este. Signs saying ?We won?t pay for blackouts!? and others bearing skulls and crossbones (a reference to piracy) were in evidence. One sign proclaimed that ?Billing for Blackouts is Robbery!? A representative of the neighborhood council told the reporters that for the first time in the history of Arroyo Hondo – one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country – ?we will go out to the Republica de Colombia Avenue and burn tires and light candles.? According to Kenia Suarez, the 20-hour blackouts, besides being irritating and hindering most every aspect of daily life, have pulled the community together to protest in the hopes of obtaining a better service from the electric companies. The residents of Arroyo Hondo will meet on Monday to set a date for their demonstration, something this community has never before seen. Neighborhood associations from Piantini, Naco, Federico Geraldino and Paseo de los Locutores, as well as retailers and other businesspeople, have named the date for their public manifestation, scheduled to take place tomorrow at 4pm at the intersection of Winston Churchill and Paseo de los Locutores. Teresa Mojica and Altagracia Rosario joined in yesterday?s protest in Santo Domingo Este because they had both received electric bills that were higher than the previous month?s ? in one case a whopping RD$4,300 higher. Angel Maria de Leon, the coordinator for the NGO Coalition, told the press that more than 15,000 small businesses had folded because of the poor electric service. The assorted community groups handed the AES office manager a document that gave the energy company two weeks to improve their service. Failing this, the groups warn they will hand the case over to lawyers and file civil complaints for damages. AES manager Katia Domingues limited herself to say that the document would be directed through the proper channels. Claudia Fernandez, the AES spin doctor, told the reporters that when the lights come on people tend to consume more energy, and this was the explanation for the higher electric bills. The public relations specialist said that it was quite possible that when electricity arrives there is a flurry of ironing, washing, television, inverters and fans. At the same time she pointed out that any client who is not in agreement with their electric bill should first go directly to AES/Ede-Este. If satisfaction is still not forthcoming, the client can appeal to the Superintendent of Electricity. AES possesses a generation capacity of 500MW of energy but they are shut down for lack of fuel.