Santo Domingo. - It was negligence, not sabotage which caused the general blackout in the first week of September, Electricity superintendent Francisco Méndez affirmed today.
He said the people responsible for the system’s mismanagement will be penalized and specified that auxiliary technicians were on service the day the blackout occurred, as the members of the permanent crews were on vacation at the time.
The official said 80 percent of the country’s electricity demand is being supplied and that he expects this type of “eventuality” is prevented in the future.
Méndez, interviewed on Channel 10 diariolibre, didn’t identify those allegedly responsible for the general blackout.

The article stated cleraly that :
"Members of the permanent crew were on vacation at the time of the blackout"
Was Leonel Fernandez one of the members of the permanent crew????????
Probably all the permanent crew went on vacation so they couldn't be fired or at the very least be paid for it.
Magic box on sale
Electricity theft is one of the main reasons why the Dominican energy sector has failed to meet the needs of its users. And as the price of the service has been increasing, new ways are devised to steal that energy. According to Listin Diario there is a new "magic box" being sold on the Dominican black market that users can install, which reduces the speed at which an energy meter turns, effectively making the meter register a lower electricity consumption level. The housing unit can have all appliances on at the same time and the meter will denote that only a few appliances are on at that moment. According to the newspaper, the "magic box" costs between RD$10,000 and RD$15,000 to install and consumers swear by its results. Some users say it can reduce bills by 50% or even more.
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Source DR1
complained fought etc.... still had to pay the bill
electricity I supposidly got without any wires going into the house !!!
I dont steal electricity but I dont respect these people very much as an industry