Electricity expert Bernardo Castellanos says the government is once again selling illusions with the promotion of the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant with capacity to generate 674.78 megawatts. “We continue to sell illusions based on manipulating data. The disappointment will follow,” he said, as reported in El Dia. He estimated that the savings made by the power plant would be only between US$150 and US$200 million and not the US$500 million touted by the government. He said cost of installing the power plant is closer to US$3 billion and not US$1.95 billion as claimed by the government. According to Castellanos, the contract allows for increases in costs, which he says are usually 40-50% over the initial cost of the project.
He says that the government has already invested US$500 million in the power plants that are estimated to reach a point-of-no-return in construction when the Medina administration ends in August 2016.
The government is beginning talks for the signing of an Electricity Pact with the framework for sustainable electricity sector improvements.