CEO says utility’s big plans this year aim to fix electricity problem

Santo Domingo.- State-owned Electric Utility (CDEEE) CEO RubenJimenez Bichara on Wednesday said the efforts to improve the energy supply arefocused on three major tenders: the Madrid Agreement which expires this summer,and two related to the coal-fired plants at Punta Catalina, the first to operateand maintain them and the other to supply the coal.

The contracts for energy to supply the total of 1,500megawatts in the Madrid Agreements start in the coming days with thepublication of the requirements to participate in the tender, with the differencethat whoever takes part in the tender cannot discuss the contract terms, to be setin advance.

"The conditions will be there from the start and whoenters knows what is required and they are uniform conditions to ensuretransparency," Jimenez said.

He said the utility has already received letters of intentfrom the power companies because the hiring process doesn’t allow new playersto enter, since the time to await the arrival of a group and its installation isshort.

Jimenez said with re-contracted agreements and with theentry of Punta Catalina’s plants in 2017 Dominican Republic is on the path tocompletely solve the national energy problem. "We will reach a fair,reasonable contract."