Cost of power is best-kept secret

[NewsWhore]

How much does it cost to produce a kilowatt-hour (kw/h) of electricity? This is a question that nobody seems to have an answer to, at least not in the public realm, reports the Listin Diario. It appears that production costs for the three major fuels currently in use in the Dominican Republic, Fuel Oil #6 (the most expensive), natural gas and coal, are the best-kept secrets in the country, because the real costs have never appeared in the media. The local electricity authorities have also avoided mentioning these costs in their public appearances. Not one little detail, according to Listin Diario, has ever managed to make it into the public sphere. According to Jairon Severino, data from the industry shows that it costs US$0.13 to generate a kilowatt with Fuel Oil #6, but to that cost there are financial, payroll, depreciation and other costs that need to be added, and these bring the final cost to distributors to around US$0.20 or even US$0.25 a kilowatt. The reporter says a kWh generated with coal costs US$0.06 and if it is produced with natural gas, the cost is just US$0.015. Fuel costs have risen lately, with Fuel Oil #6 increasing in price from US$84.27 a barrel to US$93.27 a barrel; natural gas rose from US$10.20 to US$11.31 and coal rose from US$117.43 a ton to US$127.23 per ton. Among the reporter's other complaints is the fact that the electricity distributors (EDEs) have contracts for 92% of their demand and purchase only 8% of the energy from the spot market. The Electricity Law says that the EDEs should have 80% under contract and 20% should be purchased on the spot market.

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