Radham?s Segura, the administrator of the CDEEE, the government’s electricity companies, has told reporters that the power generating companies are not capable of installing
"one more kilo" of output. He also said that demand for electricity will grow by 400 megawatts over the next two and a half years, and with the ever-increasing oil prices it makes sense for the government to look towards coal-fired generation as a solution.
Segura also said that the offer from the Westmont Corporation was the only one on the table at this time, but he added that the government was open to any and all offers. He did point out that not
"one kilo of energy has been installed over the past four years, nor are they (the power generators) in a financial condition to produce one more kilo." The CDEEE administrator told reporters that in the Dominican Republic there is no competition in the energy marketplace.
During a panel discussion organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, Segura explained that the current demand of 1,600 megawatts will grow to 2,000 MW by the year 2008, and the country needs to diversify its energy production due to the high cost of oil. Speaking about the proposed coal-fired plants, Segura said that the combined output of 1,200 MW combined with fuel costs half of that of petroleum, would represent a 35% savings overall.
The total project will cost over US$600 million, with US$500 going for the generators and US$141 million going into new transmission lines and sub-stations.
Segura recently published the contract terms in the daily press.