Through Decree 0426 of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, President Gustavo Petro provisionally suspended Sara Vélez Cuartas as expert commissioner of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg).
(See: Petro criticized decision that removes control of services regulation).
“In compliance with the aforementioned judicial order and what is indicated in the preceding article, it is necessary that through this administrative act the provisional suspension of the exercise of the position consisting of temporary separation from employment be decreed and the temporary vacancy of the same be decreed.”, reads the decree.
The official Vélez Cuartas had been appointed as commissioned expert on August 5, 2022, when ivan duke he was still serving as president of Colombia.
(See: Know the dates of the allocation auction called by the Creg).
The provisional suspension is based on article 2.2.5.5.47 of Decree 1083 of 2015 and is carried out after a judicial, fiscal or disciplinary order. The time it lasts does not oblige the employing entity to pay a salary, but it does oblige the person involved to contribute to the social security.
Last February, the council of state decided to declare the nullity of the act of appointment of Andrés Barreto as an expert of the Creg.
(See: ‘The decrease in energy rates does not wait’).
Andrés Barreto was Superintendent of Industry and Commerce.
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The former Superintendent of Industry and Commerce had taken office in August 2022 and that appointment (by former President Duque) was accompanied by a controversy and a lawsuit in which it was indicated that he did not meet applicable legal requirements, such as having training and experience in the energy area and having served for more than six years in positions of responsibility in public or private entities in the sector, as a consultant or as an advisor.
(See: “Mayor should have asked EPM manager to freeze rates”: Andesco).
The ruling states that “The defendant does not meet two of the requirements to occupy the job, because he must have recognized preparation and technical experience in the energy area, and have held positions of responsibility in public or private entities in the national or international energy sector, for a period of more than six years; or have served as a consultant or adviser for a period equal to or greater than“.
In the case of Barreto, the Creg reported, this Monday, March 27, that it accepts the resignation presented by this commissioned expert.
And you declared “the definitive vacancy of the position held by Jorge Valencia“.
“The group of current commissioned experts in office will continue working on the development of the Commission’s Regulatory Agenda for all regulated sectors, in observance of the constitutional principles and legal functions that govern it. As of the issuance of Law 2099 of 2021, article 21 of Law 143 of 1994 is modified, going from eight to six commissioned experts“, it was added.
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