The government is preparing a plan to make the collection of energy bills more efficient, especially from large businesses that evade paying for the service, announced President Leonel Fernandez. The President believes that the distribution system is a key factor in tackling the problem because once a more efficient distribution system becomes available, the cost of generation will drop by about 8%. “Then we must work hard to achieve that this year and I am sure that the electricity service in the DR will improve”, he stated. Fernandez said that consulting firms from Chile and Peru are being hired for the Edenorte and Edesur energy distribution companies. The consultants’ main objective will be to increase collection rates and detect instances of fraud in the system. The President said that groups of people have been detected with technical devices that record a reduced consumption level fitted to their electric meters, with the intention of paying less for energy. Fernandez emphasized the need to increase the collection rate as an essential step towards solving the country’s energy crisis. He stated that only 53% of the population pays for electricity. He also stated that the government subsidy for the energy sector this year would reach US$400 million, in an effort to reduce power outages.