OPINION: No light in electricity gloom

The increase in the electricity tariff has united the whole nation against the blatant attempt to avoid providing a  solution to the real problem. The regulatory system of generation, transmission and  distribution in Panama is a caricature of what a country that aspires to be competitive should have. When the price of petroleum products increased drastically, and $150, the electricity tariff was adjusted proportionally. Panamanians have been promised since the IRHE times that the hydroelectric plants were going to guarantee us cheap energy. This was never true.

Having the opportunity to take advantage of the wind, the sun, the tides and the garbage, we continue opting for high polluting fossil fuels. In addition, consumers must suffer the damage caused by blackouts and service fluctuations. We are punished with lack of lights on sidewalks and in public areas, and all claims must face a Byzantine process, which almost never solves them.

If the Government’s initiative to cover part of the rate with public funds is finalized, it will only be using another pocket of the same pants:  theone of the taxpayers, to pay for the same inefficiency … LA PRENSA, July 13