The new superintendent of electricity, Francisco Mendez, told reporters that he and his team would resolve the current crisis in the electric sector by using the ten points outlined in President Fernandez’s inaugural speech. During the first two weeks of the new PLD administration, a plan has been sketched out for the short, medium and long terms. According to Mendez, the first thing to do in the short term is increase electricity production in order to collect more money. In the medium term, the superintendent was clear that the contracts for buying and selling energy would have to be renegotiated, but that this was merely part of the bigger picture. Energy conservation and transparency in the accounting of the costs of energy were also parts of the program. Also included in the medium term process was the return of the two electricity distributors to the private sector through a public tender. On one point Mendez was emphatic: In order to better service and reduce costs, all of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) would have to concede some of their profits on the short term to permit more capital to be put into the system. Mendez said that he knew the government debts with energy producers and the debts that some entities had with the government had to be cleared up for the mutual benefit of both parties. Looking into the long term, Mendez pointed out the obvious need to verify alternative energy proposals as a way to reduce costs. He pointed to a study carried out by an economic consulting team headed by Pavel Isa Contreras, which clearly stated months ago that the current situation of indebtedness on the part of the distributors, the generalized subsidies on the part of the government, and the current tariff structure would lead to the bankruptcy of the sector.
Mendez admitted that the US$50 million that the government recently injected into the energy sector would only suffice for the couple of months needed to put the new plans into operation.