Spanish
From a bill of RD$42 to another of RD$9,437. From a closed apartment to charges of RD$12,000. From contracts that never came to have service to debts that are close to RD$100,000.
The complaints, documented in a series of reports by the investigative program Bajo el Foco, reveal that in the Dominican Republic, dozens of users claim to be paying for electricity they did not consume, trapped in a billing and claim system where time, money, and wear and tear end up weighing more than the review of consumption.
The cases presented point to a common pattern in Edesur, Edenorte, and Edeeste: amounts that cannot be reconciled with the customer's history or the visible meter reading, claim processes that last for months or years, and an institutional response that, in most cases, concludes with a single word: inadmissible.
Unreconciled Invoices
José Hoepelman has an empty space. Edesur customer, in February he paid RD$42 with 0 kilowatt-hours. In March he registered 11 kWh and RD$108. In April, 2 kWh and RD$54. But in May a bill of RD$9,437 arrived, with an alleged consumption of 711 kWh, a figure that was repeated in July. The inconsistency is shown on the receipt itself. The previous reading is 0, the current reading is 13, with a multiplier of 1, which would indicate 13 kWh. However, the billing reflects 711 kWh. Hoepelman recorded the meter on video, with the same serial number, showing the reading of 13 kWh and confirming that it is a remotely read device. On August 22, 2025, Edesur responded that the claim was unfounded and closed the case. Empty apartments with full bills In La Vega, Carolina González owns an apartment that remains closed most of the time. Her daughter, who resides abroad, only uses it sporadically when she visits the country. Even so, Edenorte's bills arrive without a clear pattern: some months are RD$400 or RD$534, and others jump to almost RD$12,000. The accumulated debt exceeds RD$40,000. González complained to Edenorte and then went to PROTECOM, the office of the Superintendency of Electricity in charge of resolving disputes between users and distributors. The process took three years. At least five invoices were disputed since 2022. His conclusion summarizes the frustration of many users: they agreed with him, but he had to pay, after being forced to settle disputed invoices from previous months.You may be interested in:
He asserts that he requested an inspection for possible energy theft. The technicians checked and found no illegal connections. The question, he says, remains unanswered: if the apartment is closed, why are such high bills arriving?The Eastern Circle
In Edeeste, the complaints reveal a more critical dimension. A user, whose name is withheld because they currently maintain an irregular connection, reports that they contracted the service in 2022 to regularize their situation. The first bills were around RD$1,500. Then they atypically dropped to RD$300 for two months. Afterwards, amounts of 20 and 30 thousand pesos monthly arrived, both at their home and in a small business. The debt exceeds RD$150,000. When he tried to claim, he was told he had to pay a portion of the amount for the process to move forward. He didn't have the money. They cut off his service and he ended up resorting to an illegal connection. Even so, the bills kept coming.Charge without installing
The case of Gricel de los Santos exposes another facet. She signed a contract in 2021 and completed all the procedures, but the installation was never carried out. Despite this, invoices began to be issued, including one for almost RD$9,000. After a review, PROTECOM and Edeeste verified that there was no electrical connection and eliminated the accumulated bills. However, while the file was progressing, the system continued to generate new charges with the note of "direct connection". De los Santos moved more than three years ago and the bills have not stopped arriving. His debt amounts to RD$94,777, without late fees. Similar cases are repeated with Diomeilin Ferrera, with a debt exceeding RD$30,900, and with Jean Lineiris Reyes, a single mother who has claimed at least 14 invoices ranging from RD$9,000 to RD$12,000, all declared inadmissible.
