Mechanical failures, short circuits and the weather have caused the electricity situation to return to its “life support” status, with service fulfilling only 56% of the national energy demand. Most of the power stations have reduced their output in order to save fuel and EGE-Haina shut down its most important generator, the Sultana del Este, because of conditions created by winds and waves from Hurricane Ivan. AES-Andres announced that it was forced to reduce output from 300 MW to 170 MW due to mechanical problems caused by wave action resulting from the storm. In the Cibao Valley the situation is being described as precarious by El Caribe, with Smith-Enron going offline because of a lack of fuel, and the similar situations at the Puerto Plata Electric Company’s generators. Seaboard was rationing its fuel and producing just 31 MW. All of the Itabo power stations are out of service because of mechanical issues and Haina was only producing 22 MW. As a result of this situation, 15-hour blackouts have once again become the norm for much of Santo Domingo and many other areas of the country. Meanwhile, Ede-Sur announced a plan to raise their collection rates, diminish illegal connections and recover long over-due bills.