President Gustavo Petro said that it will be the communities that will generate the electricity. Photo Screenshot
From the La María neighborhood of Cartagena, the president Gustavo Petro proposed changing, in the short term, the tariff formula that regulates electricity prices in Colombia.
Although he did not give details of when or how he would do so, he assured that, The current model only benefits five large energy generating companies who, according to him, produce at a low cost and charge more than they should charge taking advantage of the fact that Colombia is the only country in Latin America where the State does not regulate the rate.
“Companies can set the price of energy according to the market, which allows them to speculate. When I tried, through a decree, as the Constitution mandates, to regulate rates, a magistrate decided to overturn the decree without perhaps even reading it,” the president added.
As is customary in his speeches, he denounced that, despite his efforts to change the model, he has been prevented from doing so. He gave as an example the appointments he made to the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG) which were declared irregular.
“We will insist again and again until we can achieve it. Our proposal is to change the tariff formula in the short term, now. And in the medium and long term, Colombia’s energy system should be based on clean sources, on the generation of clean and renewable energy,” he added.
Energy communities
According to the president, his goal is that, with the support of the National Government, communities become energy generators by installing solar panels on the roofs of their homes for energy production.
We are going to change the generation tariff formula to substantially reduce rates. pic.twitter.com/ggvBccus4G
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 26, 2024
The project, known as Energy Communitiesaccording to the president, may be the solution to significantly reduce the rate that Colombians currently pay for public services.
“We have already multiplied the renewable energy capacity in Colombia by 10. Today we have a thousand Energy Communities under construction and 100 in operation. These communities join together to build and own clean energy generators powered by the sun,” said the president, inviting the communities to register and apply through the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The details of the new tariff formula that the Government will implement are expected to be known in the coming days, a proposal that will surely generate reactions from the companies that currently provide the service.
2024-08-26 01:13:34
#Petro #proposes #changing #energy #tariff #formula
