The Government received more than 55 observations on its decision to take control of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) and the Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation Regulation Commission (CRA).
However, it only considered one and rejected the rest. According to the Presidency, the Government only accepted one in which the decree, which is currently about to be signed, is requested to have an established period of time to resume those functions. “Taking into consideration that it is about being able to exercise functions aimed at establishing the ‘general policy’ in relation to regulatory powers, an activity that the Presidency of the Republic can reasonably carry out, in a initial period of three monthsthe proposal is accepted and this will be indicated in the decree that is issued definitively.
The Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia already has the draft of the decree ready.
The Presidency of the Republic published the draft decree to receive comments from the public and there it received more than 55 observations from different companies and associations of the public services sector, from political groups that made harsh warnings about the risks of Petro resuming the functions of the CREG and the CRA.
For example, the National Association of Public Services and Communications Companies (Andesco) He pointed out regulatory functions that do not come from the presidential delegation, but directly from a law of the Republic, for which reason it could not be assumed through a decree.
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Likewise, the Colombian Association of Electric Power Distributors (Asocodis) warns that article 23 of Law 143 of 1994 establishes that the CREG has the function of defining the methodology for calculating tariffs for access and use of electrical networks, establishing the tariffs applicable to regulated users and knowing the unregulated user fees and, therefore, the president is not competent to assume that regulation.
At the same time, Colombian Hydrogen He pointed out that “institutional stability and legal security are fundamental pillars of our democracy and cornerstone of the economy. Modifying the rules of the game will jeopardize the confidence and stability required for investments in generation projects with unconventional energy sources and hydrogen production, on which the energy transition is based.”
To the latter, the Presidency replied that it does not accept the observation because in the regulation issued by the president, not only constitutional principles and values will be taken into account, but also the tariff criteria contained in Laws 142 and 143.
Celsia also said that “the one-person exercise of the regulatory function implies a structural change to the electricity market that deserves to be considered in greater detail. This concentration could imply a political-regulatory risk that affects decisions related to investments in electrical infrastructure.”
Even Public Companies of Medellín He pointed out that there is no technical justification to support the decision and that the change discourages investment because it creates uncertainty.
The Presidency told EPM that it did not accept the comment because the reasons for the decision are not only economic, but also social: “The purposes of the regulation not only have an economic content, but also have a social scope, since it must be directed in the way to fulfill the social purposes of the State as derived from the mandate contained in the first paragraph of article 365 of the Political Constitution”.