The government announced that from now to March some 360,000 kilowatts will be added to the electricity grid. Of the total, 240,000 will go on line this year. The new units are expected to bring relief from the blackouts that are affecting the country. The spokes people for the government say that an increase in demand of 20%, plus the repairs to lines being carried out by private electricity companies, are behind the long power outages that started in August. Dominicans had gotten accustomed in the past two years to few blackouts, due to successful efforts on behalf of the CDE. The announcement was made by members of the Unidad para el Seguimiento del Sector Energético, a body head by the administrator of the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE), Radhames Segura and the Secretary of the Presidency Alejandrina German. The Unidad para el Seguimiento said that next week Haina II would enter into production adding 35,000 kilowatts. In the next two months another six units with a total capacity of 205,000 kilowatts would go on line in Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macorís, Barahona, Pimentel and La Vega. The power plants are located as follows: Barahona, 50,000 kilowatts (Cayman Power) Barahona, 40,000 kilowatts Pimentel, 35,000 kilowatts (Laesa) La Vega, 30,000 kilowatts (Laesa) Boca Chica, 25,000 kilowatts (Maison) Haina II, 35,000 kilowatts San Pedro de Macoris, 25,000 kilowatts Santo Domingo-Ozama River, 120,000 kilowatts
