NewsWhore
08-23-2006, 02:50 PM
There is no independent Dominican government organization that checks up on the calibration of the electric meters placed outside every client's premises, despite the fact that the state is called upon to be the regulator and inspector of the system. Listin Diario reports that Ede-Este and Ede-Sur spokespersons admit that the electricity distributors calibrate the meters in their own laboratories. However, the managers for the electricity distributors reaffirmed that the meters only measured the amount consumed by the client. In spite of these nice words, complaints from users in Santo Domingo continue to assert that the meters are wrong because even with eight-hour daily blackouts, electricity bills continue to increase. Yesterday reporters visited Ede-Sur and Ede-Este's laboratories in response to questions about the reliability of their meters. The Superintendent of Electricity was represented by an electrical engineer and the lab technician said that he specialized in electricity measuring. Both spokespersons for the Edes said that they felt that the government should create a unit specializing in the calibration of the electricity meters, since the Office of Quality Systems and Regulations (DIGENOR) does not have the funding for this. The Edes' representatives did reveal that since August 2004, the electricity distributors have paid nearly RD$370 million in claims for overcharging their customers, an average of RD$16.8 million per month.
In a separate item in Diario Libre, the paper explains how the design of the billing system used by the electricity distributors enables huge increases in the monthly bill. The article shows how just a small increase in usage can produce as much as a 47.7% increase in the monthly bill. For example, if a client's usage goes from 300 kw/hr per month to 350 kw/hr per month, the bill will increase from RD$1,095 to RD$1,620, an increase of nearly 48%. In the case of many middle class homes, a 25% increase in usage, say, from 700 kw/hr to 875 kw/hr, will produce a 38.5% increase in the electricity bill. There are four rates for usage: From 0-200 Kw/hr is RD$3.12; from 201 - 300, the rate is RD$4.71; from 301 - 700, the rate is RD$7.00; and from 701 kw/hr to 1000 or more, the rate is RD$8.57 per Kw/hr.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
In a separate item in Diario Libre, the paper explains how the design of the billing system used by the electricity distributors enables huge increases in the monthly bill. The article shows how just a small increase in usage can produce as much as a 47.7% increase in the monthly bill. For example, if a client's usage goes from 300 kw/hr per month to 350 kw/hr per month, the bill will increase from RD$1,095 to RD$1,620, an increase of nearly 48%. In the case of many middle class homes, a 25% increase in usage, say, from 700 kw/hr to 875 kw/hr, will produce a 38.5% increase in the electricity bill. There are four rates for usage: From 0-200 Kw/hr is RD$3.12; from 201 - 300, the rate is RD$4.71; from 301 - 700, the rate is RD$7.00; and from 701 kw/hr to 1000 or more, the rate is RD$8.57 per Kw/hr.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)