After the companies Afinia and Air-e took over the electricity market on the Costa Caribe Coast, following the poor service provided by Electricaribe, the inhabitants of the region have once again felt uncertainty about the electricity service, given the delays of the Hidroituango hydroelectric project and the climatic conditions that the country is going through, have questioned whether energy prices could increase during 2022.
In a dialogue with Semana magazine, the manager of Afinia, Javier Lastra Fuscaldo, announced that although this year there were actually increases in the tariffs for users' energy services, due to the increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI), which stood at approximately 18.71%, and to “a new methodology of remuneration of the energy distribution business”, the company managed to cushion the cost of this year's service for its consumers.
Lastra explained to the same media that Afinia launched the “tariff option”, provided for in resolution 012 of 2020 of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg), through which they reduced the increase caused by the new tariff methodology.
Lastra then assured Semana that, in this way, the electricity service that reaches the departments of Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, Sucre and some municipalities in Magdalena, will have one of the “lowest rates in the country”.
Likewise, the manager of Afinia assured the media that, while the company avoids increases in energy rates in the Caribbean region, in parallel, it is also taking care of implementing actions that guarantee users that they will receive the service with a very good quality.
Regarding the possible scenarios that the company could go through in terms of increasing its tariffs if Hidroituango does not start operating within the stipulated times, Lastra indicated that the electricity company “took the necessary measures” to cover the demand for the service and maintain “good price coverage of purchase of energy for the years 2022 and 2023″.
It should be recalled that the manager of Public Companies of Medellín (EPM), Jorge Andrés Carrillo, announced at the beginning of February that the hydroelectric project will start operating on July 26 of this year, after carrying out the relevant tests of the unit.
“The day we are going to fulfill it. This unit that is going to enter with 300 megs capacity, will help the system to have more reliability, it will help all of Colombia that in the event of a child phenomenon or prolonged dry season have a backup of energy that is clean, renewable, and energy that is cheap,” Carrillo said.
At the moment, according to EPM's latest report, Hidroituango's works are 87.35% complete, which, according to the company, would guarantee that the two power generation units would start operating in the second half of 2022.
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