From Barranquilla, the president of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas, called on the Congress of the Republic to reconsider a proposal that the National Government embodied in the text of the labor reforms and that could affect the provision of natural gas service in the country.
This is Article 62 through which it seeks lift the ban on strikes at essential public service companiesas long as a minimum benefit is guaranteed to avoid its interruption.
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The country must continue working so that all Colombians have stability in the service
For the guild leader, enable the strike would affect reliability and continuity in the provision of the natural gas service, which currently benefits 36 million Colombians, of which 85 percent are from strata 1, 2 and 3.
“The country must continue working so that all Colombians have stability in the service of natural gasnot only in the short, but in the long and medium term”, added Luz Stella Murgas.
For his part, the president of Promigas, Juan Manuel Rojas, assured that the energy transition that Colombia is carrying out opens an opportunity to open new jobs, but the labor reform could carry out “an important impact on the generation of employment in the future”.
President of Promigas, Juan Manuel Rojas
In this regard, the Vice Minister of Labor, Edwin PalmaHe stated that, whenever a labor reform is proposed to generate rights for workers, without much empirical and scientific support, alarms are generated, “which we have called catastrophic prophecies.”
In addition, he reiterated the call of the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, to not to generate chaos “with inaccurate figures and without studies that it will not contribute to democracy and debate” around the labor reform, which will begin to be discussed next week in the Congress of the Republic.
Facing the strikes it is essential service companiesThe Vice Minister of Labor said that it could be part of the debate to establish a list of where workers could not expressly stop operations.
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Vice Minister of Labor, Edwin Palma
Support of natural gas for the energy transition
Natural gas thermal plants are ratified as an essential support for hydraulic generation
The president of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas, also highlighted the leading role that natural gas will play in Colombia’s energy transition, since it will continue to support the generation of electrical energy, especially since solar and wind energy are inconsistent.
“Natural gas thermal plants are ratified as an essential support for hydraulic generation and will complement intermittent generation with renewables“, he added.
likewise natural gas is key to the production of national fertilizers; however, this type of project requires significant capital investments, more natural gas availability in the long term.
(Also read: They announce the return of the natural gas service to the southwest of the country)
President of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas
Greater investment in exploration will allow the identification and use of new gas reserves
Therefore, the union leader asked public policy signals and suitable environment conditions to attract the necessary capital to promote exploratory activity and foster the development of the natural gas sector.
“Increased investment in exploration will allow new gas reserves to be identified and tapped, which in turn will provide a solid foundation for the fertilizer production and other industries that require this resource”, said Luz Stella Murgas.
Another request made by the president of Naturgas was to the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg) for a change in the gas transportation tariff remuneration schemeso that it works like a stamp and thus prevents the areas furthest away from the production points from paying higher rates.
