This Tuesday it was learned that José Fernando Prada will be the new executive director of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg), who since July 2019 has served as an expert commissioner of this entity.
He is an electrical engineer from the National University of Colombia. and finance specialist from Eafit University. In addition, he has an MS in electrical engineering and in energy technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a PhD in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
(Also read: Appointment of Creg expert made by former president Iván Duque fell)
Although the decree that makes the appointment of José Fernando Prada official has not yet been published, the news was announced by Jorge Valencia, who held this position since January 2020. “Yesterday (November 14) my replacement as executive director was definedthis is a process that is done recurrently”, he assured.
It is worth mentioning that each commissioner of the Creg is appointed by the President of the Republic to hold office for four yearsTherefore, in July 2023 the term of the new executive director will expire.
Jorge Valencia’s four-year term as CREG commissioner ended last Sunday, November 13, as he was appointed in November 2018. However, He will continue to hold this position until President Gustavo Petro appoints his replacement.
(Also read: The letter with which EPM requested the Creg to extend the start date of Hidroituango)
Jorge Valencia lasted almost three years as executive director of the Cregan exceptional case since, normally, the rotation in this position is done every year or, maximum, every year and a half.
The change of executive director occurs only a few days following Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) will file a letter with the Creg requesting that the deadline for entry into operation be extended of the first two generation units of Hidroituango, since the term expires on November 30.
The company stated that it requires extra time because, despite the fact that the construction and assembly schedule of the work advances without delays, new requirements were received from different authorities that require you to fulfill a series of additional obligations and activities.
The Creg has no powers to establish any other type of conditions or permits.
However, in a political control debate in the Fifth Commission of the House of Representatives, Jorge Valencia assured that the Creg is not the one who defines the entry into operation of power generation projectsbut it is an autonomous decision of the companies.
In addition, he stressed that It was EPM that voluntarily submitted to the Reliability Charge auctions and acquired Firm Energy Obligations (OEF). “The Creg has no powers to establish any other type of conditions or permits or authorizations or anything that they want to show,” he added.
And it is that If Hidroituango does not start operating on November 30, a bank guarantee that adds up to 850,000 million pesos will be made effective., since it would be breaching the obligation it acquired to generate energy from that date. In addition to losing the revenue you would receive from the Reliability Charge.
Regarding the response that will be given to the request made by EPM, Valencia stated that the decision to be made is being discussed within the Creg. “It would be wrong for me, being one of nine votes, to say what will or will not happen in response to the request that EPM has raised,” he said.
As you mentioned, decisions in the Creg are made by six independent commissionersthe director of the National Planning Department (DNP), Jorge Iván González and the ministers of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez, and of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo.
