The Chamber of Deputies approved the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) loan for US$200 million to be used by the government to complete the payment of the foreign-service debt and to make payments to power generation companies, as reported in El Caribe. Carlos Despradel, the technical secretary to the Presidency, said the government expects to receive an advance of US$150 million on the loan. Of the total amount, he said the government would use US$45 million to complete a US$56-million payment that is due to international creditors. Meanwhile, almost 40% of the power generation capacity of the country was shut down yesterday, as generators alleged they did not have the resources to buy fuel for the generators, making 12-hour blackouts commonplace across the country. The power generators are demanding a US$400-million payment from the government. Diario Libre reports that when the government took over distributors Ede-norte and Ede-sur from Union Fenosa, the debt stood at a lesser US$85 million. Yesterday, the Chamber of Deputies also approved a 124-million-euro loan with Deutsche Bank for the construction of the electricity highway that would link the south and the north, and the 345KW lines from Santo Domingo to Santiago. Yesterday, 94 deputies voted in favor, 37 against and there were 11 abstentions.