Santo Domingo.- The State-owned Power Companies yesterday agreed to purchase 288 gigawatts of electricity from the Group AES Dominicana, for the distributors Edenorte and Edesur, which CDEEE CEO Celso Marranzini said “may” lead to lower light bills.

The agreement was signed by AES Dominicana president Marco De La Rosa and Marranzini, who said it would save taxpayers US$17.8 million, as the energy will be generated by using natural gas, which is a cheaper fuel than what most of the country’s power plants use.

Marranzini and De La Rosa, after signing the agreement in the CDEEE offices, told reporters that the pact will take effect immediately and will save both distributors 3.6 cents per kilowatt/hour on average, compared with the current prices on the spot market,

De La Rosa said the contract would lower the cost of energy for Edesur and Edenorte from 15 cents per kilowatt hour on average to nine cents. “The distributing companies are going to see a great benefit buying much cheaper energy.” He said the contract doesn’t include the distributor Edeeste since it has been buying energy from AES for a long time.

Timely payments

The contract stipulates strict payment terms for the CDEEE for the energy, “to guarantee a continuous supply” Marranzini said, calling the contract an “excellent” way to lower energy costs, which may be passed on to customers.