Since mid-December of last year, the population of the city of Estelí suffers unexpected blackouts, which are generally registered on the day, without the authorities of Disnorte-Dissur or the government to date, explaining the problem that has already become daily and that affects the commerce sector. Some affected have reported damage to their appliances.
In addition to the suspension of electricity service, users claim that receipts arrive on time and alteredTherefore, daily there are dozens of families who submit the charges to Disnorte-Dissur, the body in charge of providing the service and marketing in the city of Estelí, for review. These claims have been joined by the commerce and industry sector in this northern town of Las Segovias.
This problem of high costs reflected monthly in the electricity bills in Nicaraguan homes, is also suffered by families in the towns of the departments of Madriz and Nueva Segovia.
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In some cases, power outages are short-term and others longer. The former are more and more frequent in the city of Estelí and already they have left damage to electrical appliances in some homes, such as those for refrigeration in which food products, such as dairy products and meats, are preserved. The same happens with the merchants, those who have gone to the offices of the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE) to establish claims without obtaining answers, according to the complaints of those affected.
“It has become normal to have unexpected power cuts at any time of the day, since suddenly the power goes out without prior notice, but the problem is that some (merchants) have already had their refrigerators and maintainers damaged. where products for the sale of meat and dairy are stored and neither the INE nor Disnorte-Dissur pay for these damages”, complains Miguel Ángel López Rodríguez, owner of a meat and dairy stall in Estelí.
Cumbersome procedures for claims
For her part, Elizabeth de los Ángeles García Benavidez, owner of a vegetable, legume and fruit stall in the Alfredo Lazo neighborhood, to the south of the city, stated that the blackouts “although they do not last long have already left us with losses in household appliances. A refrigerator where I kept products for marketing burned down such as cream, cheese, sausages, ice and ice cream, and I went to complain to those of Disnorte-Dissur and they only know how to say that you have to present a series of documents that include an electrical review in the business, “she said, very upset.
And it is that, in the offices of the INE, as in Disnorte-Dissur, a claim can only be received if the affected person presents the receipts for the last three months of electricity consumption, that the service is in the name of the claimant, You must also show property papers (housing), be up to date with the payment of the service, have an updated inspection of the electrical system made by the fire brigade and submit a written letter exposing the problem.
Jader Martínez Castillo, owner of a roast chicken business in the Boulevard sector, south of the city of Estelí, confirmed that the unexpected blackouts in the electricity service It is something that has been happening for some time in the area where he sells. “We have to be vigilant every time the power goes out, because the problem is not that it goes out, but when it returns, since when the power returns, sometimes it enters with force and that’s when the electrical appliances melt,” he explained.
It generates losses
Martínez Castillo said that last month a chicken fryer was damaged. “It burned and all we had to do was take it to the electricians for repair, but when I went to complain to the INE and Disnorte-Dissur, they told me that I had to present an invoice for the equipment, they came later to do the inspection and in the end they didn’t even give an answer. I paid more than 2,400 córdobas for the repair of the chicken fryer,” the affected person concluded.
At the Disnorte-Dissur offices in Estelí They stated that they were not authorized to give information because the central offices are in Managua, while an INE official in this city only stated that he was unaware of the problem and that it was Disnorte-Dissur, who was obliged to explain what was happening with the constant cuts in electrical service.
“I think they have some problems in the areas, but they are solving with maintenance plans that hit the high-voltage cables,” he limited himself to saying.
By United Voices
