Antonio Isa Conde, the president of the Commission for the Reform of Public Enterprise, defended the capitalization of the state electric utility (CDE) over the weekend. The Commission published two full pages in local dailies presenting its official position regarding the capitalization. Isa Conde at the end of the exposé challenges opposition party presidential candidate, Hipólito Mejía to debate him on the privatization process. Mejía has turned down the offer to debate him, stating that Isa Conde is not a presidential candidate. The capitalization of the CDE has been under strong attacks from almost all sectors, after January power bills reflected sometimes 100% increases, at a time when consumers are having to endure more than eight-hour blackouts. In the publication, Isa Conde says that the present government is enduring the political cost of the passing of the state utility onto private administration. "Without the reform of the CDE, the electricity sector would have crashed months ago. It is the reform that has impeded the total collapse, and fundamentally will guarantee the structural solutions to those problems in a definitive manner," he said. He explained that the financial situation of the CDE was unmanageable, and the reform picked up half of the debt, with US$80 million in arrears with private generators remaining, having negative effects on the power situation. "The reform will bring about the conditions that will avoid the country having to depend on the so-called private power generators, whose operations and contractual relations are many years old and are totally foreign from the Law 141-97 capitalization process," he said. He stressed that the installation of new power plants takes time. He said that in addition to the rehabilitation of the CDE, the reform is bringing about a restructuring of the national electricity market. He explained that new companies can now enter the market, making it more efficient every day, and guaranteeing that in a more or less near future the country will be rid of the problems that the present deficits of the electricity sector bring. He denied that the government is spending more now than before the privatization. He says the difference comes from having to assume the US$80 million of conciliated debt with the private generators that existed before privatization and that the government is subsidizing the increase in the price of petroleum. He admitted that the Commission did not clarify to Dominicans when promising that electricity rates would not go up for four years, that they would if factors such as the price of fuel escalated. He said they did not clarify this because they did not expect that the cost of fuel would climb from US$10 at the time of the negotiations to the present US$30. According to Isa Conde, there have been "structural problems." "We are in a process of change, of transition, and the companies are not yet working as they should," he said. He admitted that the new distribution companies have had billing problems. He urged the distribution companies to concentrate efforts and investments so that service can be improved. For example, he said that the distribution companies have not yet installed appropriate new counter systems. "Dominicans all, have to demand that the distribution companies correct those problems in the least time possible, because only a 9% increase has been authorized," he said. He said that consumers should demand their rights if they receive bills with increases above this amount, attributable to problems that he still still affect the billing system. "In that the Superintendence of Electricity should be firm, because with the reform, the state has not lost its regulatory function," he said. For more on the electricity situation, see a special report on the power supply situation at www.dr1.com/daily/power020400.shtml
