The unions of the electric power and natural gas sector joined the request of the Creg to ask President Gustavo Petro to maintain the independence of the regulatory bodies of the country before his decision to directly and personally assume control of public services.
(You can also read: Creg responds to Petro: ‘Regulatory bodies must be independent’)
«It is essential to guarantee legal certainty, which allows for reasonable and stable rules, and to maintain the independence of regulatory entities, to ensure the reliability of the systems and, therefore, of the electricity and natural gas services, preventing situations that put the continuous provision of services at risk, due to decision-making without sufficient technical support”, they say in a letter Andesco, Asocodis, Andeg, Acolgen and Ser Colombia.
The announcements made by Petro weaken the institutional framework and thus put the trust of the agents that provide these services at risk
The unions ensure that the Announcements made by Petro weaken the institutionality and with this they put at risk the confidence of the agents that provide these services to execute the public and private investments necessary to guarantee them.
«The projects that will allow the country to advance in the energy process will probably be affected, which would harm all Colombians,» the letter reads.
In addition to this, they indicate that since Laws 142 and 143 of 1994, the electricity and natural gas sectors have had a robust and stable institutional framework that has allowed all actors, including the government, investors, and public, private, and mixed companies, I work jointly.
«We ratify our entire willingness to work together with the National Government, headed by the President and his delegated entities, to seek solutions and sustainable improvements and with technical rigor, which contribute to the current situation,» they assured.
Functions of the Creg
The creg He recounted that Law 142 of 1994, in its article 69, created the Regulation Commissions as special administrative units, with administrative, technical and patrimonial independence, and attached to the respective ministry. For its part, Law 143 of 1994 complemented it and established the regime for the generation, interconnection, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electricity in the national territory; the specific fines for State intervention in this sector and the responsibilities of the various authorities in the sector.
«The Committee highlights that Laws 142 and 143 of 1994 are complementary, and Law 143 directly assigned the function of regulating electricity service to the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission,» it said in a statement.
Consequently, the creg says that it must fulfill the functions assigned to it by Law 143 of 1994 and which include, in addition to defining the methodology for calculating energy rates and their approval, creating the conditions to ensure the availability of an efficient energy supply, capable of supplying demand under social, economic, environmental and financial viability criteria, promoting and preserving competition; establish, establish the operating regulations to carry out the planning and also coordinate the operation of the national interconnected system, among others.
«This is why regulatory bodies must have a independent nature to ensure that their decisions are objective, impartial, consistent and technical,” he says.
