The huge coal-fired power plant at Punta Catalina on the south coast in Peravia province, is in the news, once again. From its beginnings, the facility has made headlines from the day it was revealed that the international tender process did not reward the lowest bidder.
Built during the past Danilo Medina administration, Punta Catalina is at present the most important power plant complex in the country. Yet, cost overruns, defects, constant issues with keeping the plant online, and now, a government audit, have sullied the image of what should be the shining star of the national electric grid.
On Friday, 5 September 2025, a report was released by the government accounting office known as the Chamber of Accounts, which details some RD$21 billion in unsupported and undocumented payments to contractors and media outlets. Because of this situation, the auditors could not validate or approve some 14% of the expenditures between 2013-2021.
The audit points out that there are RD$10.09 billion in payments that were not on the accounting books, and the Ministry of Hacienda carried out payments that were not accounted for by the Dominican Corporation of State-owned Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE).
An important inconsistency found by the audit was the fact that despite the fact that the Punta Catalina facility began operations in April of 2020, the accounting appears to show that the plant was still under construction.
The total cost of the generating station, according to the audit, was US$3.278 billion (RD$148.021 billion), far beyond the base price of the contract that was US$1.945 billion.
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El Nacional
8 September 2025