For more than 20 years electrical power in Las
Terrenas was provided by a monopoly composed of the distributor Luz y Fuerza
and the generating company Generadora de Samana. The monopoly was eliminated when the
interconnection to the national grid was accomplished in early August and,
recently, the National Energy Commission (CNE) denied the application for a
generating concession to Generadora de Samana.
Luz y Fuerza continues as the distributing company but regulated by the
National Electrical Superintendence (SIE) which establishes rates and regulates
services. After the current 80-day
transition period, the final electrical rates for Las Terrenas will be anywhere
from one third to one half of what they were 40 days ago.
The end of the monopoly was the result of
persistent efforts by community leaders and organizations. The struggle continues as they now have
requested to the SIE to look into a variety of service-related ítems, from
costs of meters, costs of contracts, abusive practices and poor client services
overall. Community leaders understand
that some of the company´s practices during their long 23-years monopoly have
been abusive and contradict current electrical laws.
Many factors are worth analyzing, but still the
most important one in my view has more to do with the long-term future
electrical service in Las Terrenas.
We already know that in 2-3 years the entire
province will be connected to the national grid and that the intended loop will
come through Las Terrenas with upper-level power and potency. The costs of a kilo would be even lower and
subject to national levels and rates. According
to the SIE, the lines that connect Las Terrenas to the national grid through
the municipality of Sanchez was transitory as President Danilo ordered a remedy
to the situation after the strikes of last November, but the government had
already designed the provincial high tension loop. It couldn´t be done this year because the
necessary materials take time as they are built to specs and need to be ordered
and shipped from overseas.
Though the connection to the national grid has
its advantages, lower rates being one of them, and even when the elimination of
the concession to the local distribution company continues to be a desirable
option, I still feel that it would be short-sighted to focus only on those two
factors when exploring what our energy future should look like, locally and in
the province. Samana province and Las
Terrenas in particular have special natural and economic characteristics that
deserve additional consideration. Taking
these into account would secure long-term beneficial results and even the
creation of a national model for energy self-sufficiency.
The key components of such potential are
neither simple nor easy, but they are possible. Successful practices already exist. For instance, Germany has taken the lead in
the world and now the country produces 25GW annually mostly from solar
power. The success has much to do with
1.8 million independent solar systems that benefit 8 million people, many of
whom live in communities that are self-sustainable in electricity. Something similar occurs in Italy, second in
alternative energy production in the world.
Let´s not forget that the changes have much to do with the sources for
the energy, but also with its actual use.
It is
not only about generating
Energy
from alternative sources,
But
also about how best
To
use that energy
The goal could be to make of Las Terrenas a
municipality capable of producing its own electricity, similar to what
thousands of communities are doing in Germany and Italy. Many use a co-op model, or some form of shared
governance. They generate not to consume
more but to consume better, effectively reducing their carbon footprint on the
planet and increasing their quality of life.
We would not accomplish the same without first
removing the obstacle of an electrical distribution company incapable of seeing
beyond the tip of its nose and, second, without a government willing to provide
an expeditious way to transform the way that electricity is provided
locally. Las Terrenas (and potentially
the entire province) could benefit greatly from an alternative generation model
and from a pro-active, technically-efficient management that pursuits the
common good as its business plan. In
addition, it must operate under a strict business model that is not only just
but also effective.
Las Terrenas has suffered terribly under a governmental
apathy provoked, mainly, by the thinking that the local monopoly resolved the
problem of electrical supply and demand in a remote place, even as the same
monopoly practically choked the community through multiple abuses and
irregularities. Las Terrenas now needs
new airs, new practices and new options, exclusively oriented towards the
common good. The German model is a good
one, it´s proven successful and it´s replicable. The government has nothing to lose and much
to gain if their self-sustainable model becomes successful locally. I believe that even if subsidized at the
start, it is a worthy investment as it grows from nothing to something
beneficial to large numbers of people.
As with most valuable things the devil is in
the details, but it remains crucial for the energy to focus in the elimination
of systems and conditions similar to Luz y Fuerza`s abusive practices, and in creating
independence from a national grid that´s still filled with conflicts and
problems. We cannot pour new wine into
old skins, we need to think and create the implementation under completely different
assumptions and intended results.
The energy future of Las Terrenas is
promissory, but it will require new practices, new thinking and new people to
make it possible.
