The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission announced last Wednesday, April 17, in Circular No. 020 of 2024, that it will study the proposal of the Vanti Group from Bogotá based on a study by the Universidad de los Andes, which would integrate the two major natural gas transport systems in Colombia: Promigas (Coast) and TGI (within the country).
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If this proposal is made, the transport rate on the coast would increase by 77% to cover the distances between the production fields and the inland areas. This increase ‘would go against the development of the Coastal Industry’, according to experts.
When he heard about the circular, the former congressman Cesar Lorduy believed that “the loss of competitiveness in coastal tariffs would have a major impact on the industry, causing possible relocation of factories from the coast to inland, which would mean job losses, less development and more poverty.”
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He also explained that the study does not know what users’ payment options are natural gasknowing that the concentration of stratum 1 people is in the Caribbean coast“As a result, the average purchasing power in the interior of the country is greater than that of the coast,” he explained.
Regarding the integration of the two operating systems, Lorduy said that “the regulation is not prepared for the integration of two independent operating systems such as the infrastructure by transport of Promigas and TGI, this unification could result in operational failures.
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Likewise, “the expectation of a reduction in the final tariff (supply + transport + distribution) domestically, through this methodology, is not guaranteed, as the offer price It is free negotiation, which means that the producer can benefit from the savings in transportation, and these are not reflected in the interior end user’s rate,” said Lorduy.
After approval initiativethe increase in the transport component would be allocated directly to the coastal user, without a reduction in another component to compensate for it.
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According to the document presented by the University of the Andesthe gas transport speed in the The Caribbean It would go from a weighted average of U$1.18 per Kpc (thousand cubic feet) to U$2.09 Kpc, while domestically it would be reduced by 23%.
For his part, the president Gustavo Petro announced this Thursday on his X account that “the Creg will study the resolution to reduce the energy tariff, including gasfor users of the Caribbean coast“, goes the thriller.
The Creg will study the resolution to reduce the energy tariff, including gas, for users of the Caribbean coast
The government has proposed that in the investment plan to which Afinia and Aires committed in their contracts, it will build energy communities… https://t.co/OXc8iqoICJ
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 18, 2024
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Furthermore, the President assured that the Government has proposed that the investment plan to which it has committed itself Afinia And Sky in your contracts build clean energy communities in homes and townships of the population that today does not pay for energy. ‘And stop transferring the losses to the paying users energy in the Caribbean,” Petro added.
Source: El heraldo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
