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View Full Version : Strings tied to IDB electricity loan



NewsWhore
11-10-2011, 01:30 PM
President Leonel Fernandez has sent to Congress, starting with the Senate, a loan contract signed with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the sum of US$200 million, which will be uses to finance the "sustainability and efficiency of the electricity sector."

Now it is being known that this loan is conditioned on whether the Superintendent of Electricity has prepared and presented to the Legal Advisors of the Executive Branch the legislative proposal for the modification of the electricity rate regulations and their flexibility. This new law would contain the dispositions that will enable the new regulations and a mechanism for the automatic adjustment in the technical electricity rates that reflect the changes in the costs of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

Another condition for the disbursement of this credit is that the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) has worked out and the National Energy Commission has approved the Indicative Plan for expanding generation and transmission 2011-2015. This plan will consider renewable sources of energy for electricity generation, all potential options of viable electricity generation for the country, estimates of coverage of 100% of demand and the expansion of the minimal marginal costs.

Moreover, it will require the National Energy Commission to have prepared a legislative proposal with a legal framework for the development of a national program of efficiency, which will take into consideration the institutional design, mechanisms for financing, promoting and encouraging, tax exemptions, fiscal incentives, and programs for labeling and the use of efficient products.

According to the motivating letter sent by the Chief Executive to the senators, the financing is aimed at supporting the Dominican Republic in the adoption and implementation of the sectorial reforms and policies needed to encourage the financial sustainability and operational efficiency of the electricity sector.

The letter lists three aspects of the use of the funds, which are strengthening institutional capacity and supervision of the electricity sector, strengthening sectorial planning and consolidating the regulatory framework and supporting the improved management and operations of the electricity enterprises.

The credit will be on the agenda of the next session of the Senate, which will be held next Tuesday, 15 November. The Superintendent of Electricity, Juan Bautista Gomez, said that "there will not be an increase in the electricity rate for now - this was done in November - so we have to wait until December, but we will be optimistic."

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