NewsWhore
05-28-2009, 04:30 PM
At a time when the government is hard pressed to pay nearly US$300 million to the electricity generators, today's Diario Libre reports that this week the government signed for the purchase for US$20-US$25 million of the Ede-Este power distributor, the private company that was responsible for power distribution in eastern Santo Domingo and other provinces to the east that are not served by other companies.
A source told Diario Libre that negotiations for the state's purchase of the distributor were handled by the vice president of the Dominican Corporation of State-owned Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE).
The country has three main electricity distributors. The others were taken over by the state in September of 2003 at the decision of then President Hipolito Mejia.
On countless occasions there was talk of the government's interest in purchasing the shares of Ede-Este and the vice-president of the CDEEE criticized the fact that the distributor had a worse performance record than those in the hands of the government (Ede-Norte and Ede-Sur).
In January, the Ede Este holding company, Trust Company of the West, and Ede-Este executives Blair Thomas and Kevin Corrigan filed suit against the Dominican Government for US$680 million for breach of contract in four international courts, representing a high cost to the State.
At the time, Segura said that this distributor was the one with the most blackouts in the east of the country and a high rate of losses, between 30% and 34%, and "every day there are more blackouts in their area, compared with distributors Ede-Sur and Ede-Norte that are businesses that are going well."
Over the last few years, the relationship between the CDEEE and Ede-Este executives was marked by conflicts. Segura said that the debt with the generators has not reached US$300 million, but the owners of the generating plants say that the debt with the sector is more than US$600 million.
Meanwhile, blackouts lasting for over 12 hours continue all over the country, and the main generators are off line.
A report from the Coordinating Committee for the Interconnected Electric system says that yesterday afternoon there was a demand for 2,122 megawatts and there was barely a supply of 1,238 megawatts for a deficit of 884 megawatts. The blackouts are being felt most heavily in the Cibao region and in the capital.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
A source told Diario Libre that negotiations for the state's purchase of the distributor were handled by the vice president of the Dominican Corporation of State-owned Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE).
The country has three main electricity distributors. The others were taken over by the state in September of 2003 at the decision of then President Hipolito Mejia.
On countless occasions there was talk of the government's interest in purchasing the shares of Ede-Este and the vice-president of the CDEEE criticized the fact that the distributor had a worse performance record than those in the hands of the government (Ede-Norte and Ede-Sur).
In January, the Ede Este holding company, Trust Company of the West, and Ede-Este executives Blair Thomas and Kevin Corrigan filed suit against the Dominican Government for US$680 million for breach of contract in four international courts, representing a high cost to the State.
At the time, Segura said that this distributor was the one with the most blackouts in the east of the country and a high rate of losses, between 30% and 34%, and "every day there are more blackouts in their area, compared with distributors Ede-Sur and Ede-Norte that are businesses that are going well."
Over the last few years, the relationship between the CDEEE and Ede-Este executives was marked by conflicts. Segura said that the debt with the generators has not reached US$300 million, but the owners of the generating plants say that the debt with the sector is more than US$600 million.
Meanwhile, blackouts lasting for over 12 hours continue all over the country, and the main generators are off line.
A report from the Coordinating Committee for the Interconnected Electric system says that yesterday afternoon there was a demand for 2,122 megawatts and there was barely a supply of 1,238 megawatts for a deficit of 884 megawatts. The blackouts are being felt most heavily in the Cibao region and in the capital.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)