President-elect Leonel Fernandez said yesterday that the country could be paralyzed by the financial problems of the power sector. An accumulated debt of more than US$360 million is behind the power generation companies having cut off supplies to the nation?s power grid. News reports indicate that the main power generators ? Itabo I and II, Smith Enron and Haina I and II ? are offline, contributing to an estimated deficit of 550 megawatts. Present power production reaches 927 megawatts, sufficient to meet only 63% of the demand, as reported in the Listin Diario newspaper today.
As a result of the shortfall, businesses and residences alike are now suffering through 12-hour blackouts on a daily basis. These power outages have forced all sectors to rely on their alternate power systems, entailing even higher costs.
Meanwhile, Hoy newspaper reports on complaints from the general population that say despite the 12-hour blackouts their power bills continue to climb. Some consumers say they have received new increases of 50 to 100% in their June statements. Power bills have been consistently increasing over the past 12 months.
Diario Libre says that one of the most talked about matters among the middle and upper classes is whether it is time to rig their individual systems in order to fraudulently lower the disproportionate invoices. Power in the DR is the most expensive in the Western Hemisphere, due to major inefficiencies in the system.