NewsWhore
07-02-2007, 06:50 PM
In spite of incredible losses to fraud and transmission problems, the nation's electricity distributors are making money. A lot of money. According to the Diario Libre, the EDEs, speaking generally, lose 41.1% of the electricity they purchase from the generators. The EDEs prefer to have the losses covered by the government with the energy subsidy lump payment. Another reason for the losses is that transmission lines are inadequate to the task, despite millionaire loans have been taken out to resolve this problem over the years. Nonetheless, the EDEs are making money. Using figures from last May, journalist Esteban Delgado reveals that the three EDEs purchased RD$2.62 billion in electricity from the generators. They collected RD$2.76 billion from their customers, and earned RD$147.0 million, in spite of the 41% loss in theft and transmission. According to the paper, the EDEs buy electricity at eleven cents of a dollar per Kw/h and sell it at 20 cents of a dollar per Kw/h. This margin gives them their profits. Furthermore, the analysis shows that Dominicans that are billed for power, pay for the service. Of the RD$1.26 billion filled by Edesur, RD$1.23 billion was collected. Of the RD$830.3 million billed by EdeNorte, RD$763.7 million was collected. And of the RD$828.1 million billed by EdeEste (the only private company), RD$776.5 was collected.
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More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)