Elena Viyella de Paliza, president of the National Business Council, urged the government to apply the General Electricity Law.
As reported in Listin Diario, she explained that the blackouts and the high cost of power are the principal obstacles to competitiveness of companies in the DR. She said that before talking about an electricity sector reform, what the government needs to do is to apply the law. She says that measures to reduce the number of consumers who do not pay for power used needs to be taken, and that this irregularity is the main cause of the power problems. Viyella de Paliza advocated strengthening regulation. She joined sectors that have criticized the Superintendence of Power continues for violating the General Electricity Law. The government has been lax at demanding that the power distribution companies increase collections, and instead has resorted to increasingly higher subsidies to make up for those who do not pay. To make up for the deficit, the government has also allowed power rate increases that are now penalizing the productive sector to a point where many businesses have been forced to shut down.

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