NewsWhore
12-17-2010, 01:10 PM
Celso Marranzini, executive vice president of the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) has announced the discovery of a major internal fraud. He said he is sending a case to the Department of Prevention of Administrative Corruption involving five technicians who purchased 100,000 meters in China with a chip that can be controlled using a TV universal remote control. He said that he was holding the former financial director of EdeNorte, Peruvian Marco Portocarrero responsible.
He said the meters were installed in upper income neighborhoods in the areas served by EdeNorte and EdeSur so that users could shut them off to reduce their meter reading and power bills. "We have detected and dismantled thousands of those meters," said Marranzini.
Moises Ferrer, electricity prosecutor (PGASE) was present at the press notification of the fraud. He said the meters were purchased between 2006 and 2007 in a tender process with terms of reference that specified that they should have a kind of optic port that facilitates remote control.
Ferrer accused Portocarrero, the former financial director, as one of the people responsible for the fraud. As reported in El Dia, the authorities presume he is no longer in the country. He was found to have made deposits of RD$30 million in one year, which did not match the wages he was making, according to an audit carried out by investigators.
Celso Marranzini reports that there are one million consumers that do not pay for the service they receive. During the meeting with the press, Marranzini reported that billing of the three power distribution companies increased 11.4% in 2010, going from US$1.1 billion to US$1.23 billion, as of November 2009. He said there was an increase of 14% in collections.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
He said the meters were installed in upper income neighborhoods in the areas served by EdeNorte and EdeSur so that users could shut them off to reduce their meter reading and power bills. "We have detected and dismantled thousands of those meters," said Marranzini.
Moises Ferrer, electricity prosecutor (PGASE) was present at the press notification of the fraud. He said the meters were purchased between 2006 and 2007 in a tender process with terms of reference that specified that they should have a kind of optic port that facilitates remote control.
Ferrer accused Portocarrero, the former financial director, as one of the people responsible for the fraud. As reported in El Dia, the authorities presume he is no longer in the country. He was found to have made deposits of RD$30 million in one year, which did not match the wages he was making, according to an audit carried out by investigators.
Celso Marranzini reports that there are one million consumers that do not pay for the service they receive. During the meeting with the press, Marranzini reported that billing of the three power distribution companies increased 11.4% in 2010, going from US$1.1 billion to US$1.23 billion, as of November 2009. He said there was an increase of 14% in collections.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)