This situation, according to the mayor of Medellín, is due to failure to pay the tariff option and subsidies.
The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, who serves as president of the Board of Directors of Public Companies of Medellín (EPM)launched a strong call to attention to the National Government, warning about the imminent risk of massive blackouts on the Colombian Caribbean Coast if the payment of debts contracted with public service companies.
during an interviewGutiérrez denounced that the National Government maintains a debt of more than 4 billion pesos with companies in the electricity sector, including more than 2.4 billion pesos that it owes to Afinia, an EPM subsidiary in charge of providing the service in the Caribbean region.
This situation, According to the president, it is due to failure to pay the tariff option and energy subsidies for strata 1, 2 and 3, commitments acquired by the National Government.
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“Afinia alone, between the rate option and subsidy to the energy rate of Strata 1, 2 and 3, the government owes almost 2.4 billion pesos. The situation is critical. We have given life to Afinia until February with a loan of 1.4 billion pesos. The national government must pay because otherwise the same thing that happened in Puerto Carreño will happen. When the government did not pay the rate or did not pay the subsidy to Strata 1, 2 and 3 of the energy rate, the blackout was generated. in Puerto Carreño. The only person responsible, if there is a blackout in the country, is the national government,” emphasized the mayor of Medellín.
Despite the difficult financial situation, EPM continues to carry out actions for the users of the Caribbean Coast, investing more than 3 billion pesos in Afinia.
However, Gutiérrez recognized that the situation is unsustainable and that urgent solutions are required from the National Government.
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Now, the lack of payment by the National Government to public service companies, such as Afinia, has direct consequences on the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Caribbean Coast. The risk of massive blackouts not only affects the region’s economic activity, but also the safety and well-being of families.
“I want to be very clear. Afinia does not represent a single peso of utility for FM, quite the opposite. Implies financial obligations. (…) We are doing well and moving forward, despite the national government. What the national government does all day is put spokes in the wheel. He does not fulfill his obligations,” concluded ‘Fico’ Gutiérrez.
Source: Integrated Information System
