The Electricaribe relay

As is well known, Electricaribe came under the control of the Spanish company Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF), today Naturgy. The Electricity Law clearly establishes that the service must be provided subject to the principles of “efficiency, quality, continuity, adaptability, neutrality, solidarity and equity”. Unfortunately, the company providing this service in the Caribbean region did not comply with any of them.

The point was reached, on the eve of its intervention by the Superintendency of Public Services, of registering an average of cuts of 90 hours / year, double the national average, which at that time was 45.5 hours / year. And it reached the extreme of non-payment to the generators from whom it was purchased the energy that it distributed to its users and as a result of these they were permanently exposed to “supply limitations”, which is nothing other than scheduled rationing of service provision, by the System operator, the firm XM.

In such circumstances there was no other way than intervention, given that the responsibility of guaranteeing the provision of the service belongs to the State, as mandated by the Political Constitution, the Superintendency of Home Public Services, headed by José Miguel Mendoza to the intervention and possession of Electricaribe, first for administration purposes on November 14, 2016 and finally for liquidation purposes on March 14, 2017.

We proceeded, then, to start a search process for a new operator to come to occupy the place by Electricaribe. Hence, in Law 1955 of 2019 of the National Development Plan 2018 – 2022, a rescue plan was incorporated as a special chapter that would allow us to get out of this crossroads, which was later supplemented in the 2010 of 2019 Growth Law.

Among the measures contemplated to achieve this was the establishment of a special regulatory regime for the Caribbean market, the execution of several projects to stabilize the provision of the service and the management of Electricaribe liabilities.

In this way, the way was paved to enable the replacement of Electricaribe in the network operation of the Caribbean region. Indeed, on March 20, as a result of the auction, opened by the Superintendency of Services, by segmenting the market in two, Caribe Mar, which includes the departments of Bolívar, Córdoba, Sucre and Cesar, was awarded to Afinia, a subsidiary of the Public Companies of Medellín and Caribe Sol, comprising the departments of Atlántico, Magdalena and La Guajira to the Consorcio Energía de la Costa Ai-re, in a proportion of 10.9% and 10.8%, respectively, of the 2.7 million users, representing 23% of the energy demand in Colombia. In this way, a desperate cycle was closed and another hopeful one opened.

The terms of what was agreed and agreed between the Superintendency and the new operators were established in two separate programs of “Long-term agreed management” signed between the parties served by Electricaribe as network operator. Indeed, Afinia and Air-e assumed control of these markets through an auction and this was one of the conditions to enter as new operators as of October 1 of last year.

The trial balance of this first year of operation of these two new companies that have assumed the provision of energy service in the Caribbean region has been, in addition to challenging for them, bittersweet for users. After the nightmare and the mistreatment that it meant for these Electricaribe, the desperate users cling to the illusion of having a better service and a better treatment from them.

The biggest challenge for new operators is to improve the quality of service provision, avoid continuous interruptions and voltage fluctuations. To this end, they committed, through the aforementioned agreement, to invest $ 5 billion by Afinia and $ 3.7 billion by Air-e in a period of 5 years and thus correct the historical lag in investments. that Electricaribe stopped doing.

In fact, the quality of the service has been improving, but not with the speed that users expect and legitimately aspire to. According to the Superintendency, the frequency and duration of power outages has been reduced and better and more diligent attention to the user has been provided. However, it will take time and effort for them to regain the trust lost by users, after 22 long years of outrages and abuses they received for service.

Therefore, The impatience and reaction on the part of users is understandable when they received their invoices in September with a disproportionate increase in the rate from Air-e. The new rate had an increase of 9.8% for the residential and commercial sector, going from $ 500 KWH to $ 626 KWH and 5% for the industrial sector.

Strike to say that, although it took many by surprise, that increase was sung, since in article 318 of Law 1955 of 2019 of the National Development Plan 2018 – 2022 it was established that “the variation in rates for this region will be at less equal to the percentage variation of rates from the national average ”. It is, then, to level it up. It had only been postponed.

It is still too early to make a final judgment, but the truth is that, after the nightmare that Electricaribe meant for its users, the relief to know that we are better than when we were worse and that is already gain. New operators will have to be given a waiting compass to show that they are up to the challenge. It goes without saying that what is preached for Air-e applies to Afinia, the other operator, both are governed and must adhere to the same rules.