Amid rumors and serious questioning by many different sectors of the population, the President will announce his plan to save fuel and energy today. According to the Listin Diario, the President plans to re-schedule working hours in several sectors, synchronize stop lights, restrict the sale of gasoline and other fuels on weekends and restrict the circulation of publicos and private vehicles to alternate days. Reactions to the presidential plans have varied. The head of the National Gasoline Retailers Association (ANADEGAS), points out that any plan that tries to reduce gasoline or diesel consumption should start with the government itself, because otherwise it would make no sense to the general population to make a sacrifice. The syndicate leader proposed that the government also increase the refining capacity of the local refinery, which would reduce the size of the petroleum invoice. ANADEGAS also revealed that energy audits carried out in the past reveal that there is a loss of between 35% up to 52% in the industrial sector, which must be reduced if the country wants to reduce oil consumption.
According to Listin Diario, the details of the new energy saving plan are “the best kept secret” ever, with officials just saying that the President would reveal the details later today. Apparently a source has disclosed that restrictions on the use of private vehicles will be limited to the weekends and not Wednesdays and Thursdays as was rumored all last week.
Radhames Segura, the head of the CDEEE, explained in general terms the three main sources of energy consumption in government offices and in the home: Transportation, illumination and air conditioning. Segura also said that with the installation of “smart lights” at different intersections, replacing the more traditional lights, and with the changes in the working day for public transportation vehicles, especially the publicos, the new plan aims to reduce traffic jams during peak hours. The plan will also look at having people go to work at different times and the use of more efficient lighting fixtures.
As Segura pointed out, the question of air conditioning is not just one of whether the consumer can afford to pay the electricity bill, but whether the government can afford to purchase the oil necessary to produce the electricity. Referring to the ANADEGAS suggestion of increasing the capacity of the local refinery, journalists Yanet Beltre and Roberto Gil point out that the Dominican Republic uses 165,000 barrels of oil a day, of which only 50,000 are crude oil and 115,000 are fuels already refined.