An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the infrastructure investments required in the electricity sector to establish a modern efficient distribution system. Three regional electricity distribution systems were privatized in 1998 via sale of 50% of shares to foreign operators; the Mejía administration repurchased all foreign-owned shares in two of these systems in late 2003. The third, serving the eastern provinces, is operated by U.S. concerns and is 50% U.S.-owned. The World Bank records that electricity distribution losses for 2005 totaled about 38.2% primarily due to low collection rates, illegal connections, infrastructure problems and poor governance. At the close of 2006, the government had exceeded its budget for electricity subsidies, spending close to U.S. $650 million. The government plans to continue providing subsidies. Congress passed a law in 2007 that criminalizes the act of illegal electric connections. The electricity sector is a highly politicized sector and the prospect of further effective reforms of the electricity sector is poor. Debts in the sector, including government debt, amount to more than U.S. $500 million. Some generating companies are under capitalized and at times unable to purchase adequate fuel supplies. The rate of electricity loss declined from 38% in 2005 to 30% in 2019 showing improvement in the infrastructure. The state subsidizes the cost of electricity funding the cost via indirect taxation instead of direct price increases, therefore it is a redistributive policy and partly funded by the country as a whole instead of the direct consumers of electricity. The profit from renewables, natural gas, and coal is positive and considered the way forward for the system, given that petroleum derivatives are considered more volatile and expensive in running costs.