Resolution SIE-06-2003, as published today by the Superintendence of Power, eliminates the so-called toll the department had authorized power distributors to levy on companies to discourage them from purchasing power directly from the large power generators at considerable savings. Large companies had protested the illegality of the toll for months.
Only very large companies are by law authorized to direct connections. Originally, however, the Senate had authorized any entity consuming upwards of 1,000 kWh per month to connect directly to the grids. The power distributors successfully lobbied against this and induced the Chamber of Deputies to double the limit. They next secured Resolution 15-01 from Superintendent Julio Cross?s predecessor, which applied a surcharge that practically eliminated all benefits of the direct connections.
Union Fenosa has protested the elimination of the surcharge saying it would mean a reduction of RD$44 million in their revenues. Mario Lopez, operations manager for the Union Fenosa power distributors, said that the government should have previously determined alternatives to compensate them for the losses.
Yesterday, an editorial in Hoy newspaper questioned the unwritten clause in privatization contracts that seems to guarantee high profits to foreign investors in power in the Dominican Republic. ?The impression is that the original privatization agreement contained a hidden clause that eliminates the risk of the investor ? of winning if he is on target, or losing if he makes errors ? in doing business when reality is different from what was planned,? wrote the editorialist.
