The managers of electric distributors Edesur and Edenorte are blaming the 8 to 15-hour power outages that have been affecting a large part of the country over the past several weeks, on the heat wave, as reported in El Caribe. Ruben Bichara said that the heat wave has increased their purchase of energy by 38% (from US$39.9 to US$52.2 million per month) between January and May. He stated it is difficult to keep the level of service at January levels, considering the price hasn’t increased. Electricity Superintendent Francisco Mendez indicated that the power distributors have received clear instructions from President Fernandez to distribute energy in a fairer manner. He stated that is not happening because 24% of Edesur’s circuits are receiving outages that are longer than 8 hours. At a press conference, Bichara argued that the distributors could not comply with the impossible. He stated that the average daily demand was 6.8 gigawatts in January while now it is 8.8 gigawatts.