Rebecca (fictitious name) is a humble lady of about 40 years old who lives in the La Lila neighborhood of the Los Tres Brazos sector, Santo Domingo Este. She arrived agitated and desperate to the branch of the Eastern Electricity Distribution Company (East) in Megacentro to report that he has been complaining for more than three months for a billing high.
After waiting for almost 30 minutes, he received the response he had received on his other five visits: “They are going to implement that.”
When telling his case to Free Newspaper, Rebecca He said that the bill for his home and that of a small commercial premises that he owns has exceeded 7,000 pesos each, an increase that is almost seven times what he paid monthly for each one. contract.
“They say that the accountants started counting, and the problem started to arise: that it is a bill of seven thousand and something pesos, which is not appropriate for a poor neighborhood and a poor house. We can’t even find enough to eat, much less pay such a high bill!” he exclaimed.
Rebecca is part of the 3.1 million customers of the three companies electricity distributors (EDE), according to commercial management data of these entities published by the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Free Newspaper He visited branches of East and the Southern Electricity Distribution Company (Edesur). What is common in the experience of this newspaper is that these entities offer a very agile system for cash processes and reports, but they present many obstacles when it comes to solutions to the claims.
Five people surveyed said that their checkout process was very “quick, easy and safe.” But the other side of the coin is the claims that these companies receive. In a survey, the majority was related to bills high, non-compliance by companies and high voltage reports.
The efficiency of the EDE stays with people when they leave the premises. Although the effectiveness of assistance depends on conditions such as location, demand or size of the branch, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the customers could be seen on their faces.
Juan, for example, went to Edesur to claim that a month and a half after opening a new contract and request the voltage of 120 and 240 volts to install an air conditioner, they had only installed the 120 volts without making the change counter required for 240 volts.
After checking her situation, the customer service agent informed her that the change was pending. She explained, with little clarity, that she should ask a technical department to change the voltage to 240 volts, but that there was no precise time frame for the solution. b The agent provided her with the general telephone number Edesur and the process ended without a clear resolution.
On the other hand, Maria also reported to Edesur incidents high voltage surges that occurred on June 11 and 12, 2024 at his residence, which caused damage for 87,000 pesos for an extractor fan, air conditioning and refrigerator. Despite several reports to the electric company, the problems persist.
In that same company, Carlos is facing problems of billing inconsistent and historical spikes, varying from 9,759 to 12,642 pesos, while it usually paid between 3,500 and 4,500 pesos.
He also argues a discrepancy between the readings of the counter and the billed, and difficulties with the installation of a telemetry system for a billing more precise.
In the second quarter of 2024 alone, the Electricity Consumer Protection Office of the Superintendency of Electricity received 14,176 claimsof which 56.3% were from customers of East.
Analysts and financial organizations have recommended the submission of a Tax Reform integral from the Central government to implement structural changes in sectors vital to productive development, such as the electrical sector.
