Deputies denounce electricity bill hikes and blackouts in the DR

Congressional debate over electrical service and potential tariff adjustments

The energy landscape in the Dominican Republic has become the center of an intense political debate. Opposition legislators have raised their voices to question the quality of the electrical service and the notable increase in the cost of bills reported by citizens, despite official statements that rule out, for the moment, a readjustment in the electricity tariff.

The Minister of Energy and Mines, Joel Santos, has been emphatic in pointing out that the Government does not have on its agenda to apply an increase in the cost of the service, clarifying that the mention of this possibility in the 2025-2028 National Pluriannual Public Sector Plan is a technical recommendation and not an executed government decision.

Opposition voices criticize the service’s instability

Deputy Selinée Méndez expressed her concern regarding the return of power outages in sectors where the supply used to be constant. The legislator shared her personal experience, noting that the constant interruptions even affect daily activities such as virtual education.

Here, everyone loses power. There is no power plant here that can withstand this. There is no inverter here that can withstand this. There is no pocketbook that can withstand this.

For her part, Deputy Rafaela González agreed that the frequency of power outages has increased significantly. González emphasized that citizen discontent intensifies when receiving high bills without receiving an efficient and stable electricity supply. In a more critical vein, Deputy José Alberto Jiménez described the current increases as a disguised reform, citing cases where the cost of the electricity bill in closed properties has experienced disproportionate hikes.

Officialist perspective and causes of consumption

From the ruling party benches, deputy Juan Medina admitted that the increase in costs is a reality that also affects public officials. However, he suggested that part of the increase in bills could be linked to inefficient consumption habits, such as the excessive use of air conditioners and other electrical equipment.

• The Government attributes part of the high demand to the high temperatures recorded in the country.
• Breakdowns in distribution networks are reported as one of the factors affecting the interruptions.
• The temporary unavailability of power plants has also affected the national supply.

Although the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) recently reached a historic supply exceeding 4,000 megawatts, complaints about interruptions persist. The Government maintains its stance of seeking solutions through new strategic measures, while the citizenry awaits a tangible improvement in the stability of the electrical service.