Dominican Republic among Latin America’s worst for electricity losses

Santo Domingo.- While some countries, such as Chile and Costa Rica, have managed to keep electricity losses below 10%, others, including the Dominican Republic and Honduras, record losses exceeding 35%. These losses can represent a drain on public resources, weaken service quality, and, in many cases, reflect the inefficiency of state-owned distribution companies.

According to the study “Economics of Electricity Losses in Latin America and the Caribbean,” published by the Inter-American Development Bank, countries with greater private participation in electricity distribution have lower average losses (14.1%) than those where state management predominates (22.3%). This is no coincidence: private sector participation has enabled better governance, provided greater incentives for efficiency, and led to sustained improvements in service quality.

Public enterprises, such as the Dominican Republic’s EDEs, do not depend on their efficiency, but rather on the ongoing support of public finances. By May 2025, EDEs had already received more than 35 billion pesos in state subsidies, representing a significant burden for taxpayers.

Addressing the problem of electricity losses requires more than investment: it requires reforming the institutional nature of the system. Persisting with an inefficient state-run model means postponing the modernization of the electricity sector, perpetuating the burden on the treasury, and condemning users to poor service. Evidence shows that where there is private management, there are fewer losses and better quality.