On Saturday, people from the upper middle- and upper-class residential neighborhoods carried out their first public demonstration, tying up traffic along some of the major arteries of Santo Domingo. Hoy reports that hundreds of demonstrators blocked Winston Churchill Avenue. The protesters said that because they live in what are called ?exclusive? residential areas, their electric bills are much higher than those for similar service in other areas. One protest sign read: ?We are charged like the rich, but live like the poor.? Some of the more recognizable last names present at the demonstration included Brugal, Ceara Hatton, Berges and Perice Vidal. Hundreds of vehicles also participated in the clamor for better service from the electric companies.
The extensive blackouts are on everyone?s nerves. Santiago?s La Informacion says that the protests organized by the business groups and the general populace repeatedly ask for a solution to provide with them some respite. In spite of the addition of a Cogentrix generator and the money paid to Smith-Enron last week, the situation in Santiago has not even marginally improved since two weeks ago.
As the long blackouts continue to punish the small businesses, hair salons, ice cream shops, laundries, barber shops and the small markets are forced to spend between RD$600 and RD$1,200 per day on fuel for their small generators. With the power outages exceeding 20 consecutive hours yesterday in different parts of the country, El Caribe reports that economic activity was greatly reduced over the weekend. Fuel bills bearing amounts as high as RD$20,000 were reported by many of the small businesses interviewed by El Caribe reporters. Some commercial operations have even resorted to the use of two generators to deal with the situation, although these additional costs are being transferred to customers. Many hair stylists have had to either close their doors or turn off the generator unless it is absolutely necessary. Laundries are varying their working hours, in order to meet a greater demand for their services, and often remain open during the evening and night.