Three ministers and the director of the National Planning Department (DNP) signed Decree 0227 through which President Gustavo Petro resumes some of the functions of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg)as well as the Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation Regulation Commission (CRA).
(Read: The consequences of Petro assuming tariff control, according to the Creg).
The draft decree it had gone out to comments and responses had been generated by guilds and actors in the sector who had pointed out that the institutionality of the sector should be maintained. Likewise, all the decisions of these entities were made after a discussion with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Treasury and the National Planning Department (DNP).
The signed decree estimates that for three months the president will resume the functions of a general nature delegated to the commissions. This includes those such as the establishment of the tariff methodology.
For their part, the commissions will have particular functions, that is, those that include specific issues, referring to companies.
“Here the rules that have been built in the Creg do not easily allow energy communities to be made. So I say: let’s do it, so that in most of the country where there is a lot of sun we can build energy communities”, President Gustavo Petro said in Cúcuta.
(Also: Petro will regulate utilities: Here’s what it could do.)
The Government assures that at this moment “it is considered convenient and opportune to assume the competence by the Presidency of the Republic, in relation to the issuance of general measures of regulatory scope in the matter of public services.”
They argue that the functions were delegated by the president and therefore could resume them at any time. This is the first time that this decision has been made, since 1994 when the commissions were created after the blackout that the country experienced for 11 months.
Gustavo Petro
Alejandro Castañeda, president of Andeg, explained that at the moment there is no clarity on how this decision would be executed. For example, if the changes will be made by decree or resolution.
The draft decree received 55 comments, of which only 1 was accepted. This is the one carried out by the Colombian Petroleum Association that He asked that there be a boundary period for this decision.
Precisely Sandra Fonseca, president of Asoenergía, said that this delimitation provides the sector with some certainty. However, she pointed out that the ideal is that once those three months are over, the Creg resumes its role.
(Keep reading: They sign a decree for Petro to assume regulation of public services).
However, there are legal doubts surrounding this measure, as experts argue that the functions of the Creg were assigned by law, so a law would be required to retake them.
Nicolás Arboleda, Baker McKenzie’s senior associate in the Mines and Energy area, explained that since they are delegated by Laws 142 and 143 of 1994, a procedure would be required by Congress, to resume functions.
Actors in the sector confirmed that legal options are being analyzed to find out if a lawsuit is filed and in that case if it is done for nullity or unconstitutionality.
The Colombian Chamber of Energy pointed out that it could have legal defects.
They note that although Decree 2253 of 1994 delegated the definition of general policies to the regulation commissions, these were regulated by law.
For this reason, they state thatOne aspect is the definition of the general policies for the administration and control of the efficiency of residential public services, and another very different one is the regulation of tariffs, which was a function that, within the constitutional powers assigned to the legislator, were assigned with force. of law to the Creg”.
Precisely, Portfolio learned of a letter sent by the Commission to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez. The letter, sent prior to the signing of the decree (February 14), affirms that it was Law 143 of 1994 that assigned the functions to the Commission. With this, They oppose the government’s arguments.
However, the letter states that “to expand the system’s firm energy capacity for the years 2027 and following, to meet the growth in energy demand in those years, even in critical conditions, we must preserve confidence in State regulation and maintain the signal that any modification industry standards will be the result of a rigorous and transparent technical analysis ”.
(See: ‘Allow the reforms’, President Petro’s request to Colombia).
It should be noted that one of the criticisms of this intervention is that may affect future investments, due to greater political and legal instability. Precisely, the Creg launched a reliability charge auction that could be affected.
Creg called for a reliability charge auction
Yesterday, while it was known that President Gustavo Petro would resume general functions, the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg) called an auction of firm energy obligations (OEF). This auction is madein order to guarantee the future supply of electricity at efficient prices”.
The Commission reported that in order to participate, agents must present a certificate from Upme evidencing that they the plant has a concept of connection to the system. In the same way, they must have a financial guarantee that ensures the entry into commercial operation on the established date.
The resolution establishes that the The validity periods of the obligations are between December 1, 2027 and November 30, 2028. However, it proposes an incentive for the early start of the projects, which is to receive the remuneration of the charge from the start of operation without change in the completion date.
DANIELA MORALES SOLER
Portfolio Journalist
