Government discusses electricity

[NewsWhore]

The government, with the support of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank is working on a new plan to free the electricity sector from the problems that have plagued it for the last 50 years "once and for all". Minister of Hacienda Vicente Bengoa and Radhames Segura, the vice president of the Dominican Corporation of State-owned Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE), made the announcement at the Presidential Palace yesterday, following a meeting with President Leonel Fernandez and a high-level commission from both banks that lasted for more than four hours. Bengoa reported that next week a commission made up of himself, the CDEEE vice president and the president of the National Business Council (CONEP) would travel to Washington, D.C. for interviews with World Bank officials and to iron out the details of the program. According to Gina Montalvo, IDB general manager for Belize, Central America, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Panama, the plan will include a program to improve the efficiency and the recovery of losses from distribution. "It was agreed that we would increase investment in these networks, and in another area, we are beginning to study the elements of the plan," the official told the press conference. By government invitation, the WB and the IDB representatives spent over a week assessing the situation of the electric sector in the Dominican Republic. As well as technical support, the banks will also provide monetary support. This year's budget consists of US$350 million from the World Bank and US$700 million from the IDB, including US$360 million to be injected into the local banks to improve their liquidity. Over the last few days, the electricity system has suffered a setback with a marked increase in blackouts, attributed to the hundreds of millions of dollars in debts with the generators accumulated by the energy distributors. Yesterday, the CDEEE vice president said that he did not have an exact figure for the amount of the debt, and therefore he was not going to say. Data obtained by Diario Libre indicates that the debt of the electricity distributors with the generators is around US$200 million. A commission will provide permanent follow-up on the plan, while the President will do it periodically, said Bengoa. The members of this commission have yet to be announced.

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