Energy theft is a big challenge to overcome

Electricity theft is one of the main focal points of concern and occupation of the authorities of the electricity sector. The Dominican Corporation of State electric companies (CDEEE) has left it well established and the Procurator General attached to the system (PGASE) to submit people for violation of articles 124 and 125 of the Act General of electricity 125-01, amended by law 186-07 and sections 379 and the Dominican Criminal Code 401.

Avoid that users will steal the light, despite having awareness of how costly that is produced, it has required millions of dollars investment by the State.

In currently runs a project of telemetry in order to reduce fraud. This project has a cost of $8 million.

To make more efficient the collection of the distributors of electricity (EDES), is also running the project of rehabilitation of networks u000adistribution in the amount of $152 million, financed by the World Bank (WB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the OPEC Fund Bank.

With this project of rehabilitation of networks, according to CDEEE, is expected to reduce losses in some cases from over 40% to less than 20% in the selected districts. In the northern part the project of rehabilitation of networks in Cienfuegos and herds of el Yaque in Santiago province. These projects were allocated under tender, and with high standards of transparency, according to a presentation made by the Executive Vice President of the CDES, Celso Marranzini.

Rate
one of the problems facing the sector is that 80% of residential consumers pay a rate lower than the cost of generation, which today cost the State more than $5,000 million since 2002, not counting the subsidy of 2011.

But the front to lower the deficit in the sector not only has u000abeen through the reduction of technical and non-technical losses, but that the administration of the holding company has had to implement internal and operational measures to lead by example.

The CDEEE revealed that has fallen 45% its expenses and has risen by more than 13%. One of the obstacles to the recovery of the EDES what has been the level of prices of fuels that have driven companies in the sector.

Sector documents establish that there had been negotiations of prices with the generating companies involving around annualized savings of $100 million on the purchase of energy from the EDES and CDEEE. The decline in prices achieved with the generating companies has been the product of voluntary negotiations with generators.

Marranzini said on more than one occasion that it is necessary for users to understand the need to pay for the service.

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More efforts to control theft
the u000aDominican Corporation of State electric companies (CDEEE) is also making efforts to strengthen the fight against fraud. In that regard, he requested to the electricity Superintendence (SIE) reformulate the regulations for the persecution of the theft of electricity, to adapt them to the reality of the institutions. The same has been done with the Attorney General of the Republic to be more speedy and energetic in the instrumentation of fraud cases and submit to all those customers and users who have committed fraudulent acts.

Magistrate Moses Ferrer, pursue and subdue that numerically the electricity service, has assured several times that will continue to fight crimes against the electrical system as these affect the quality of life of citizens.

"In the PGASE has declared zero electric fraud tolerance", said the official, according to a release from the u000ahanging entity in the website of the CDEEE.

As part of the strategy to make more efficient the service, authorities at the forefront of the EDES have also commissioned dozens of circuits and improved others, including those who have been raised to 24 hours.

A late 2011 reached the figure of 2,150,000 customers billed on the part of the EDES. Six years ago, in 2005, the distributors just checked 1,077,819, according to official data.

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