Minister of Energy and Mines Antonio Almonte and Minister of the Presidency Lisandro Macarrulla announced last week that all is ready to sign the Electricity Pact. The National Development Strategy Law 1-12 ordered the signing of the Electricity Pact as one of three national pacts. The discussions between public, private and civil society have delayed the signing.
Yet, Fernando Henríquez, speaking for the Centro Juan XXIII, a civic watchdog organization, says the Electricity Pact is not yet ready to be signed. Henríquez says that the discussions of key issues had stagnated on topics dating back to 2017 before the entry into service of the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant, the largest in the country. He made the observation in an interview on Despierta con CDN.
Henríquez said that a consensus must be reached on a document that may then serve the purpose for which it was conceived in the National Strategy Law, that is to be the platform for national development. Henríquez said the national electric system is aging, inefficient and expensive, which affects the country’s competitiveness.
He said while Centro Juan XXIII recognizes that there is a need to sign the Electricity Pact that has been under discussion since 2014, the legitimacy of the pact needs to be met.
Henríquez also said that taking into account the newly named members of the Economic and Social Council (CES) that is reviewing the pact, these should meet to study an update to the electricity situation prior to signing the pact. The CES is in charge of reviewing the National Development Strategy Law pacts.
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El Caribe
El Caribe
7 February 2021