NewsWhore
06-14-2006, 02:10 PM
The British Chamber of Commerce celebrated the start of activities under a new board with a breakfast presentation on the electricity crisis and its solutions in the DR. Guest speakers for Adam Smith International highlighted that at the bottom of the Dominican electricity crisis is a cash flow shortage and thus the government organizes blackouts to reduce the payments it makes to cover for those who get the service for free. The speakers highlighted that meanwhile good customers are obliged to fund bad customers, with perverse incentives in place for good customers to resort to generate privately or to decide to steal, as the tariffs reach unsustainable levels.
Adam Smith International speakers say the Dominican electricity system can be turned around in three to four years with political. Adam Smith International advocates for the Superintendence of Power to be strengthened so that it may act independently and effectively as regulator, while policy be separated from operational control and ownership.
Adam Smith International feels that DR energy prices to the public would fall with full control of theft problem, plus achievement of efficiency gains and cost reductions across the sector. The consulting firm expressed their surprise that there is not more interest locally in energy conservation and alternative generator sources, such as solar, wind, DSM technology.
As a second part of the event, Chilean electricity expert, Jaime Manzano presented a Latin American experience. His company has been invited to restructure electricity systems in several Latin American countries after the successful experience of Chilectra in Chile. He proposes that this can be done in a short time in the DR. He says that a CIER 1989 studied showed the same recommendations that experts are making now. "There is nothing new. It is a problem of acting," he told his audience. He said that technical, commercial, punitive and information spreading actions that need to be taken are similar for most countries. He says their accumulated experiences make it possible to solve the Dominican problem at a lower cost and time than what took in Chile.
He called the present 40% power losses "unsustainable, inadequate and immoral." "This is a country that does not deserve that," he said, criticizing the US$600 million subsidy. He explained that everyone ends up paying this subsidy. In his opinion, implementing control programs in the DR have the highest yield because the losses are so high.
New board of British Chamber of Commerce is presided by Roberto Herrera (Compania de Electricidad de San Pedro de Macoris). Other members are: Marcos Pena (Jimenez Cruz Pena), Miguel Santana (Caribe Comercial), Alex Baez (Vinicola del Norte), Charles Urena (British American Tobacco), Hector Rizek (Nazario Rizek), Rafael Maradiaga (The Shell Company), Jose Rodriguez (Globeleq), Ian De Souza (Republic Bank), Guillermo Alvarez (Pastoriza, C. por A.) and Leon Rubio (Do-Ven Import & Export), and British Ambassador Andy Ashcroft.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Adam Smith International speakers say the Dominican electricity system can be turned around in three to four years with political. Adam Smith International advocates for the Superintendence of Power to be strengthened so that it may act independently and effectively as regulator, while policy be separated from operational control and ownership.
Adam Smith International feels that DR energy prices to the public would fall with full control of theft problem, plus achievement of efficiency gains and cost reductions across the sector. The consulting firm expressed their surprise that there is not more interest locally in energy conservation and alternative generator sources, such as solar, wind, DSM technology.
As a second part of the event, Chilean electricity expert, Jaime Manzano presented a Latin American experience. His company has been invited to restructure electricity systems in several Latin American countries after the successful experience of Chilectra in Chile. He proposes that this can be done in a short time in the DR. He says that a CIER 1989 studied showed the same recommendations that experts are making now. "There is nothing new. It is a problem of acting," he told his audience. He said that technical, commercial, punitive and information spreading actions that need to be taken are similar for most countries. He says their accumulated experiences make it possible to solve the Dominican problem at a lower cost and time than what took in Chile.
He called the present 40% power losses "unsustainable, inadequate and immoral." "This is a country that does not deserve that," he said, criticizing the US$600 million subsidy. He explained that everyone ends up paying this subsidy. In his opinion, implementing control programs in the DR have the highest yield because the losses are so high.
New board of British Chamber of Commerce is presided by Roberto Herrera (Compania de Electricidad de San Pedro de Macoris). Other members are: Marcos Pena (Jimenez Cruz Pena), Miguel Santana (Caribe Comercial), Alex Baez (Vinicola del Norte), Charles Urena (British American Tobacco), Hector Rizek (Nazario Rizek), Rafael Maradiaga (The Shell Company), Jose Rodriguez (Globeleq), Ian De Souza (Republic Bank), Guillermo Alvarez (Pastoriza, C. por A.) and Leon Rubio (Do-Ven Import & Export), and British Ambassador Andy Ashcroft.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)