After the companies Afinia and Air-e took over the electricity market on the coast of the Costa Caribe, following the mediocrity of the service provided by Electricaribe, the inhabitants of the region again felt uncertainties about the electricity service, given the delays of Hidroituango's hydropower and the climatic conditions that the country is going through, asked if energy prices could increase in 2022.
In a dialogue with Semana magazine, the director of Afinia, Javier Lastra Fuscaldo, announced that although this year the tariffs for energy services of users have increased, due to the increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI), which amounted to about 18.71%, and to “a new methodology the company has managed to write off 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 Regulatory Commission (Creg), thanks to which they reduced the increase caused by the new tariff methodology.
Lastra then assured Semana that, in this way, the electricity service that will reach the departments of Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, Sucre and some municipalities of Magdalena, will have one of the “lowest rates in the country”.
Likewise, the director of Afinia assured the media that, if the company avoids increases in energy rates in the Caribbean region, it is also in charge 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 suffer in terms of increasing its rates if Hidroituango does not start operating on time, Lastra indicated that the electricity company “has taken the necessary steps” to cover the demand for the service and maintain “a good coverage of energy purchase prices for the years 2022 and 2023”.
It should be recalled that the director of the Medellín Public Enterprises (EPM), Jorge Andrés Carrillo, announced at the beginning of February that the hydroelectric project would start operating on July 26 this year, after carrying out the corresponding tests of the unit.
“The day we're going to make it happen. This unit that will come in with a capacity of 300 megas will help the system to have more reliability, it will help all of Colombia to have a clean, renewable and cheap energy reserve in the event of an infant phenomenon or prolonged dry season, “said Carrillo.
Right now, according to EPM's latest report, Hidroituango's work is 87.35 percent complete, which the company says would ensure that both power generation units would start operating in the second half of 2022.
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