The energy deficit in the Dominican Republic is currently such that the country evokes an image of the XIX century rather than the modern day. According to accounting and consulting firm Grant-Thornton, the solution to the problem lies in a reduction of the high costs, a reduction of stolen electricity, a reduction in the tariffs, a revision of the current contracts with the generators and a declaration of bankruptcy by the distributors. These are the ideas of economist Jochi Vicente from Grant Thornton. As reported in Hoy, Vicente?s study reveals that the distributors (the Edes) are losing US$107 million per year and US$84 million of those losses occur in the sale of energy. The greatest problem is in the residential service that consumes 46% of the energy produced and only pays for 36%. The problem is aggravated by the fact that financial limitations on the distributors keep them from carrying out effective debt collection programs, as well as the higher rates that encourage fraudulent connections. Vicente points out that one of the important factors that inhibit a reduction in the cost of electricity to the customer is that most of the generation capacity is tied into expensive fuels and have long-term contracts with fixed pricing that is independent of production costs. He blames the Madrid Agreement for much of the problem. As a solution, the economist proposes a renegotiation of the current contracts, believing that a new, lower price structure is the only way to decrease the urge to siphon the power illegally. Such a deal would require an additional US$1.2 billion in compensation and payment of back invoices.