EPM Group would voluntarily implement mechanisms to alleviate the increase in energy tariffs
Together with the National Government and the guilds, the Group leads the initiative to mitigate tariff increases.
- Fecha de publicación
- 2022-09-08 00:00
- Titulo
- EPM Group would voluntarily implement mechanisms to alleviate the increase in energy tariffs
- Contenido
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Together with the National Government and the guilds, the Group leads the initiative to mitigate tariff increases.
- As a tariff option, the companies of the EPM Group are deferring COP 2.5 billion. Of these, COP 1.3 billion are from the subsidiary, Afinia
- The CEO, Mr. Carrillo, spoke to attendants at the Andesco congress titled, “EPM guarantees the country’s energy security.”
The EPM Group took the initiative to voluntarily explore the price base of energy contracts to ease user tariff and will review the indexer so that they do not continue growing at the same rate. This with the purpose of mitigating the potential increase in the rates of this service for the users of the companies of the multi-Latin, reflecting it in a reduction to the payment made by users. This announcement was made by Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso, EPM´s CEO, during his talk on Thursday, September 8, during the Andesco congress.
The leader of the EPM Group stated that these measures are taken according to conversations with the Mayor and the Chairman of the EPM Board of Directors, which include determinations in the Distribution and Commercialization sectors. “While the regulatory or normative measures are issued, the EPM Group will also go for the tariff option with the lowest increase. We are going to start by only increasing 0.6%, the minimum that Colombian regulations on energy charges allow.”
CEO Carrillo said that the tariff option, which is an important effort for the companies, allows for no immediate rate increases and for these to be adopted progressively as far as possible. “The tariff option in Colombia is costing between 4 and 4.5 COP billion a year. This is what the companies are not receiving today, and they will charge later. It is not a gift, it is a deferral for users,” stated CEO Carrillo.
The CEO added that, “of these COP 4 billion, for 2022 EPM is contributing COP 2.5 billion. This year, the companies of the EPM Group are not receiving COP 2.5 billion that will receive later, and this is being done to reduce the impact of the tariff increase on users. Of these COP 2.5 billion, COP 1.3 billion pesos are from the subsidiary, Afinia, that provides services in the Caribbean region.”
“We are able of doing this, as long as the timely payments of energy subsidies are made by the National Government and that the authorities assist us to be able to provide this kind of relief for the community, that will start immediately if we reach these two agreements, in an initiative we have been working on with both, Government and the guilds”, emphasized Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso, EPM´s CEO.
Service for the Caribbean
As for Afinia, the EPM Group subsidiary that provides energy services in the departments of Bolívar, César, Córdoba, Sucre, and part of Magdalena, the CEO highlighted that the EPM Group does not want to leave this territory. However, he pointed out that a rational conversation must be started regarding electric energy tariffs, investment in this region, added to the quality of the service.
“When a company like EPM is summoned to reach these territories and invest COP 10 billion in the next 10 years, it is reasonable that there is a discomfort in people's expenses. We must choose what we want. If COP 10 billion in investments are made, which unfortunately have to be charged to the tariff in order to have an excellent service, because we do not know how to provide it in any other way, but if the discussion is do not do that, and lower the tariff, then, we are not the actor for that, and we would not want to be,” he concluded.