Given the disagreement over the interruptions in the electrical service and the rise in the price of energy, yesterday the president Louis Abinader reported that the government will propose to the Economic and Social Council (CES) the readaptation of the Electric Pact to stop the next increases in the rate so that it is adapted to the circumstances of the current international crisis.
The rise in the price of energywhich is verified every month in the receipt of the electricity distributor, has displeased the households and the productive sectors of the country, since it is understood that the levels of increases are very high and at a very bad time for the local economy, affirmed the president of the National Association of Companies and Industries of Herrera (ANEIH), Noel Urena Ceballos. She warned that this could trigger a social problem.
From November 2021 the Superintendence of Electricity is carrying out a gradual dismantling of the subsidy to the electricity rate, that is, every three months the price of the kilowatt-hour (kWh) rises, in accordance with what was established between the signatories of the Electric Pact in February 2021.
Can read: Abinader says they will stop increases in the electricity rate
So far there have been four rate increases, the first in November 2021, January-March and April-June 2022. The last increase will be reflected in the bill for this month of July and will be 9% for residential customers that they consume until 300 kWh and 7.6% for small businesses.
Abinader, in yesterday’s statement, highlighted that the cost of natural gas, which represents almost half of the fuel used for power generation, has tripled in the last year, as have fuels and coal, and that The Electric Pact proposes the gradual adjustment of the price of electricity to stabilize it at international prices.
In the same way, he said he understands the disagreement with the current increases, even more so when electricity is consumed the most during the summer.
He recalled that the government is subsidizing more than US$1,000 million for electric sector and fuels with US$30 billion.
Ureña indicated that the Electric Pact contemplates a gradual increase in the rate to reduce the deficit in the electricity sector and also that it would be done at the same time as an investment plan in the networks to reduce losses. However, ANEIH criticizes that at these points only the rate has been increased and the networks are not improved.
He stated that the latest increases in the price of oil affect generation and have led to greater blackouts, impacting the costs of all sectors with a greater impact on MSMEs.
