Op-ed contributor Marisol Vicens writes in El Caribe that the first 100 days of President Leonel Fernandez’ second term indicate a positive balance sheet with regards to the restoration of confidence at both the national and international levels. Nevertheless, and despite the fact that the issue of electricity is one of the most pressing, the country has not been able to show any steps that have been made towards solving these problems. The IMF, according to Vicens, is well versed on the necessity of fixing electrical situation in order to reduce that sector’s estimated deficit of US$650 million, and now appears to be conquering the inertia displayed by the electric sector administrators. The IMF is demanding that they execute some of the measures that were discussed with the former Mejia administration, particularly the elimination of subsidized electricity for consumers of more than 200 KWH per month. The lawyer and former head of the ANJE business association says that before this measure is put into place, however, it is imperative that the contracts of the electric generators be renegotiated. Also needed is more transparency within the sector and a greater confidence in the electric billing system, as is required by Resolution 74-04 from the Superintendent of Electricity’s office.
Unfortunately, the prevarication in the process of renegotiating the contracts only deepens the crisis and makes solutions more difficult to reach. Vicens reviews the government’s activity, or lack thereof, in the recent sale of shares by AES and finds several questions that need to be answered. In the end, Vicens says that the one grade pending on the report card for the first 100 days is that regarding the electricity crisis. She expresses the hope that the pressure being exerted by the IMF will force the government to devise a solution in the sector and remove this Achilles Heel from our national economy.