The intervention of President Gustavo Petro in the regulation of energy rates is dangerous for several reasons, because, in addition to the fact that it can lead the electrical system to have prices below market costs, it sends a message of contempt on the part of the president of the legal and institutional system.
The first, it can bankrupt the electric companies and, therefore, lead the country to suffer blackouts, while the second, by appropriating the functions of the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission, Creg, is a worrying sign of totalitarianism.
Although it is understandable and necessary for energy rates to be reviewed, this evaluation must be made based on technical knowledge and in the institutionally established instances for it.
The price of the kilowatt is not defined solely by the levels of the hydroelectric plants, but there are a series of factors that also affect it, such as, for example, that the inputs are imported and now, with the dollar on the rise, they cost much more.
Is this presidential intervention the first step to nationalize the electrical system?
It is worth remembering that before the 1992 blackout, when for almost a year there were power cuts between 9 am and 6 pm every day, the electrical system was public and political decisions, which did not take technical knowledge into account, which led to the need to ration electricity.
In this sense, it is worrying that the management of the sector based on populist political decisions, will return to the country 30 years and sooner rather than later the blackout will return. The mere announcement of the presidential intervention has paralyzed the energy sector, as there is fear of making investments that cannot be sustained via tariffs.
It is not an exaggeration to say that President Petro is laying the foundations for a blackout.
The post Colombia, on the way to blackout? appeared first on Diario Occidente.