The League of Home Public Services Users, Cesar chapter, will join the protests scheduled for this Thursday, April 11 in the Caribbean departments due to the high rates of electricity service in this region.
The main sit-in will be in the city of Valledupar at 8 am, outside the offices of the Afinia company, located at 17th Street number 13-67.
Aníbal Barros, coordinator of the Broad Front of Users of Home Public Services in Valledupar, stated: “We are asking that the national government, through the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) reformulate the tariff formula and eradicate the regime. “special tariff implemented by the previous Government on the Atlantic coast.”
DISCONFORMITY WITH THE NEW METERS
Another request, according to Barros, is that “smart meters should not continue to be imposed without the user’s authorization.” According to the spokesperson for the League at the territorial level, they expect the presence of the vallenato singer Iván Villazón, performer of the song ‘Apagandofos’, composed by Julio Oñate Martínez, who was also summoned to the demonstration.
Read: Electricity rate triggers inflation in Valledupar: the highest in the country
“Afinia has me crazy and Aire is going to kill me / I live turning off lights and the bill goes up more,” is the chorus of this picaresque song that reflects the situation of users of the electric energy service in the northern part of the country.
INCREASES THE COST OF LIVING
And according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE, between March 2023 and the same month of 2024, the vallenatos had an increase of 30% in their electricity bill. this home public service.
This was the fourth highest percentage of that period, since Santa Marta, Riohacha and Barranquilla surpassed the capital of Caesarea by a few percentage points. In general, Valledupar recorded the highest inflation in Colombia (9.49%) during that period and this high cost of living has been driven precisely by the high price of energy, which is why many Caribbean people consider themselves “victims” of the system. electricity that is currently going through a crisis due to the low level of the reservoirs used by hydroelectric plants.
Users reject charges for energy losses.
MARCH IN OTHER CARIBBEAN CITIES
In the city of Barranquilla there will be a march starting at 4 pm, it will start from the Joe Arroyo statue and arrive at the Plaza de La Paz. The complainants will have free legal advice and will close the day by burning the invoices as an act of rejection of the high costs.
In Cartagena the rally will also be at four in the afternoon in the Plaza de La Paz in that city, while in Santa Marta the route will start from Simón Bolívar Park until reaching the offices of the Air-e company. For their part, the sincelejans will gather at 5 pm at the Afinia headquarters.
At a technical table held last week in Valledupar, the coordinator of the Caribbean Users League, Norman Alarcón, stated that the Duque Government “gave a great gift” to these companies with the departure of Electricaribe.
“Many people say that the electrical problem in the Caribbean is overdiagnosed, that may be true, but what is required is an exhaustive and precise diagnosis,” stated Alarcón.
By Economic Editorial.