The Cibao and the northern part of the country are suffering once again long hours of blackouts after the Smith and Enron power plant in Puerto Plata was shut down. The plant closed its operations saying that it had run out of fuel, amid claims that the government owes Smith and Enron more than US$19 million. Finance Minister Jose Lois Malkum has said that the money would be paid as soon as the World Bank lends the government another US$250 million to complete renegotiated terms in the contracts of the power generating companies. The blackouts also are being attributed to the shut down of Itabo II in Haina for standard maintenance.