The economic section of the Listin Diario announced that the Smith-Enron generating facility in Puerto Plata had re-entered the system, providing a much needed 100 megawatts of power to the energy-starved Cibao region. According to reporter Jairon Severino, the generator returned to service after the government made a token US$30 million dollar payment on the US$375 million dollar debt that is owed to the generators. According to Severino, sources close to the generating sector told reporters that the government had reached a mutually agreeable payment schedule with Smith-Enron. Other sources were were less amenable, as they said that the US$30 million, divided among the eight generating facilities did not give them much leeway. By the end of the week the deficit in energy had reached 562 megawatts, down from the 704-megawatt deficit reported earlier. The Cibao Valley, suffering 20-hour blackouts for most of the past two weeks, should see a small improvement in service with the Smith-Enron’s return.
\nAs of late, a slight improvement has been noted in electricity service since the return of 210 megawatts to the national electric system. Smith-Enron and the Sultana del Este in San Pedro de Macoris entered into service over the weekend. Although the Puerto Plata facility is not yet producing at full capacity, there has been a marked improvement in electric supply throughout the area. As measured by El Caribe, the blackouts in various areas of Santo Domingo were down from 14 to 20 hours to periods of 4 to 5 hours. The CDEEE paid US$30 million dollars to the generators at the end of last week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The economic section of the Listin Diario announced that the Smith-Enron generating facility in Puerto Plata had re-entered the system, providing a much needed 100 megawatts of power to the energy-starved Cibao region. According to reporter Jairon Severino, the generator returned to service after the government made a token US$30 million dollar payment on the … <\/p>\n