Fifteen former energy ministers warn of risks of intervening in the Creg

This Monday, a group of 15 former Mines and Energy ministers, as well as 2 former Mines and Energy vice ministers and 8 former CREG commissioners sent a letter to President Gustavo Petro indicating the effects of intervening this Commission.

It should be remembered that in recent days the draft decree came out for comments, through which the president seeks to resume functions that were delegated to the Energy and Gas Regulation Commissions (Creg), as well as Water and Basic Sanitation (CRA).

The decision generated alerts in the sector since an intervention could generate economic and legal effects both for the companies in the electricity supply chain, and for the Government, due to possible lawsuits.
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In this context, the group of former officials pointed out, first of all, that regulation in the last 30 years has made it possible to maintain reliability, that is, that there are no blackouts, as well as greater coverage and quality of service.

Said commissions were created in 1994 through Law 142, which responded in part to the blackout that Colombia experienced for 11 months between 1992 and 1993. With this, the objective was to create planning, regulation and control entities that would provide stability and robustness to the electrical system.

The former officials referred to the fact that although the governments, since then, have generated policy direction from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, this had not been replaced from the presidential figure.
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“Dear Mr. President, the institutional heritage of the Colombian electricity sector does not belong to a particular government. It has been built over decades by hundreds of public officials,” the letter states.

They affirm that the changes and improvements that can be made must be made from the institutional framework. “A sudden irruption, altering said institutionality, does not offer any advantage to achieve the necessary reforms and, on the contrary, puts the sustainability of a sector at risk,” they point out.

Among the former ministers who signed the document are Diego Mesa, Tomás González, Amylkar Acosta, María Fernanda Suárez, Mauricio Cárdenas, Juan Camilo Restrepo, among others.

The signatories pointed out that one of the risks could be in the investments, since the resources mobilized from the private sector have been made “believing in a current framework.”

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