Dominican lawmakers lash out at “energy cartel”

Santo Domingo.- Five senators and the president of the Chamber of Deputies yesterday stated their interest in reviewing all contracts with the power companies, coinciding with recent statements by president Danilo Medina.

The statements were voiced separately by Chamber of Deputies president Abel Martinez, and the senators Rafael Calderon, Dionis Sanchez, Amable Aristy, and Felix Nova, who called accused the power companies of forming an “energy cartel.”

Nova said “everything must be reviewed" in the electrical system and criticized that the crisis has benefited some sectors for years, in disregard of the consequences to the population.

Like Medina and his colleagues, the lawmaker affirmed that big problem is that those sectors have operated with the complicity of international agencies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but that "it was time to stop this situation," with the grand electric pact they said they’ll spearhead.

Martinez meanwhile said Medina speaks the truth when he blames the electrical problem for the huge deficit.