DR energy is "a tree of sorrows"

[NewsWhore]

A report from the Presidential Ministry for Technical Affairs Economic Analysis Unit signals the huge series of very basic problems facing energy production in the Dominican Republic. Apart from the RD$22.3 billion in subsidies, the report shows just how dependent the DR energy sector is on fossil fuels, and how the dependency might well continue into 2008 or 2010. Among the different branches of the "tree of sorrows", the report singles out the fact that 82% of electricity production is thermal, requiring some variety of fossil fuel. Secondly, losses through a decrepit system of transmission and distribution, coupled with the way electricity is generated, increases the costs significantly. A report from the UASD Energy Institute attributes deficiencies in generation, transmission and distribution to a 38% price increase. Currently the cost of a kilowatt for household use is pegged at US$0.27, whereas the rest of Central America is paying just US$0.16 to US$0.09 per kw/hr. The report also attacks the poorly structured contracts with the independent power providers (IPPs), and lastly the report says that there has been "poor management" on the part of the energy distributors in their efforts to collect on energy bills.

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