And What About the Subsidies?
Regarding subsidies, it is worth noting that they were regulated in Article 99.3 of Law 142 of 1994 on Public Services, as 'a discount on the bill amount' for the most vulnerable users, in this case, strata 1, 2, and 3. This led to the creation of the Solidarity Fund for Subsidies and Income Redistribution (FSSRI) through Law 286 of 1996. This responds to one of the principles governing the provision of energy service: efficiency, quality, continuity, and solidarity (Article 87 of Law 142 of 1994). It is important to highlight that the purpose of said subsidy is to guarantee effective access for the most vulnerable to basic public services, as enshrined in the 7th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are binding for Colombia.
TL;DR
- The Colombian government owes energy companies around $3.5 trillion pesos in unpaid subsidies.
- This debt jeopardizes the financial stability of energy companies and risks service interruptions.
- The government has been accused of lacking political will to pay the subsidy debt, prioritizing other expenditures instead.
- A new solar program, 'Colombia Solar,' may affect existing subsidies for vulnerable households (strata 1, 2, and 3).
- Critics argue that the government cannot unilaterally eliminate or replace these subsidies, as they are established by law and require legislative reform.