The Dominican Electricity Companies Corporation (CDEEE) has paid in full the US$3 billion that the government had committed to paying the electricity generators, of the US$7 billion it owes.
The CDEEE says that after the generating companies had completed the paperwork, they immediately started to disburse the funds, and that now “this is already history.”
The remaining debt payment is included in the 2013 budget, which will be used to pay the rest of the US$7 billion owed.
Several weeks ago the Dominican Electricity Industry Association (ADIE) expressed its concern at the long delays in paying the generating companies, which at the time had accumulated four months of expired current debts.
ADIE believes that the government should make stronger efforts to repay the debt as this is the only guarantee for ensuring the supply and sustainability of the electricity system in the short term.
According to ADIE, most of the money owed to the generators is for buying fuel to keep their generators running, as well as for paying creditors and renewing expired credit lines. The generating companies said they were having problems with their operations and with the fuel inventory due to the delays in payment.
They said that replacing fuel inventories was not an immediate action, as once the purchase order for the fuel has been placed the ships take several weeks to arrive.
