Last Thursday, January 26, 2023, President Gustavo Petro surprised by announcing that he will assume control of the regulation of public services in the country.
“This president has decided not to delegate his duties to the public service regulation commissions, at least for a while. So, I am going to assume control, the general administration policies of Colombia, directly and personally, based on what the Law itself says: first, the general interest and that of the user”, said the president at that time, during an event in which he participated in Boyacá.
Now, a week after the announcement, it became known the draft of what would be the decree that will allow Petro to control the regulation of services.
In the draft that was known, it is read that President Petro would resume, in accordance with article 68 of law 142, “the general functions delegated to the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission and to the Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation Regulation Commission carried out by means of Decrees 1524 and 2253 of 1994 and other concordant regulations“.
The document also says that the regulatory commissions would continue “issuing the administrative acts of a particular nature that they exercise” at the time when the decree is officially issued and that the president may request technical support from these commissions and other entities in each sector.
Another decision that would be made with the decree would be related to the regulatory provisions, which would have to be governed by the following general guidelines:
– Subjection to the principles, constitutional and legal purposes and values.
– Guarantee of disclosure and citizen participation in actions in this area.
– Relevance, opportunity and quality that guarantee the principles of efficiency, sufficiency, comprehensiveness and tariff solidarity.
– Rate regime criteria of economic efficiency, neutrality, solidarity, redistribution, financial sufficiency, simplicity and transparency.
Finally, the document establishes that “all provisions that are contrary to it” would be repealed and would apply to “the general regulatory processes that are in process at the time of entry into force“.
“What is not provided for in this decree will be subject to the mandates of laws 142, 143, 1755 and the concordant regulations“, close the draft.
It is noteworthy that the document does not refer to how long the measures would last taken in the same
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