Long speeches, interests hold back advance of Electricity Pact

Santo Domingo.- Long speeches in preliminary meetings and thevarious interests are holding back the necessary consensus on the variousissues leading to the Electricity Pact.

At Thursday’s meeting the long debates over issues such asthe electricity meters made impossible to start the talks on the technical feeand other aspects of the call for tenders to sell and buy energy.

Power companies association (ADIE) vice president MiltonMorrison said the electric pact has “many issues that waste much time and are totallysterile and without foundation.”

Economic and Social Council (CES) president monsignor AgripinoNuñez agrees, again complaining that the talks are taking too much time. "Thework has been done at a pace that makes it possible to work on such a complexissue and the diversity of participants and also, why not, the very interests wrappedin a problem such as this."

He said the preliminary meetings should be suspended untilThursday next week, to give the draft committee enough time to advance.

"But again, the work is at a pace that is possible where there are so many heads talking,there is a group that agrees and another states something, but you have tounderstand, is part of the democratic systems," the prelate said.

Some social sector representatives yesterday denounced thatbusiness leaders are proposing a 100 percent jump in the light bill, on whichNuñez said there are two proposals, for which the draft committee will work tounify the points in common.