The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy has had vacancies or officials in charge for several months in the two vice ministries and in several decisive entities. Added to the feeling of helplessness expressed by various voices in the sector is the burden caused by the arrival of droughts with the El Niño climate phenomenon. For experts, it is evident that this is not the time for institutional setbacks in a country whose electrical matrix depends on water by 70%. The horizon seems complex.
Among the headless positions are the Vice Ministry of Energy and the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH). And in the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG), the most important technical and independent body, five of the six commissioners are in charge and are linked to the Government. A controversial issue because the independence of the Executive is part of the spirit of the CREG, with external experts working with two representatives of the Treasury and Mines. For now, the only commissioner named in person is the executive director, José Fernando Prada.
“Whatever reason there is behind the delays in appointments,” considers Manuel Maiguashca, former vice minister of Mines and Energy, “it is inconvenient. If several CREG experts are employees of a ministry, they are not independent, and you are castrating the autonomy of the regulator. Time passes and suspicion remains: why don’t they name those who are in charge and solve an underlying problem? By appointing them expert commissioners, those in charge would cease to be part of the ministerial payroll and hierarchy to dedicate their time completely to the work of the regulator: “There are not established rules, but there are usually some who specialize in fuel issues, others in gas, others electricity. Today it is not clear who is in charge of what,” says former Vice Minister of Energy Miguel Loreto.
Jorge Valencia, former director of the commission during part of the last government, points out a certain “triviality” in the water supply projections as a consequence: “The calculations I have heard for the management of the summer, which we still do not know if it will be dry or extremely dry “They don’t fit me.” Without underestimating the capacity of the current CREG officials, he senses that, according to his information, there is still a lack of precision on issues such as the “behavior of the basins, energy balances or other details of the system.”
That is why he maintains that it is worth remembering that the “reliability of the system” depends on the technical work between the commission and the Ministry, beyond “other types of political considerations.” Lotero believes that this is a “complex situation for an electrical system that is suffering a moment of stress.” Colombia, located in a tropical zone, is exposed every four or five years to drought phenomena that are already beginning to be tangible: “That is why adequate regulatory management is required, on the one hand, and on the other, operational management of those in charge. of the ministry, coordinating the entities of the retail sector.”
Some of the unions that represent the energy supply chain complain about an alleged short circuit in communication with the Palace. If in other Governments the meetings with the ministries involved were scattered throughout each month, they say, now they are scheduled in dribs and drabs. Additionally, Miguel Lotero continues, “there are a series of important modernization challenges in the sector that have not advanced.” Among them he mentions the energy transformation stipulated as a priority by the Ministry: “That is a task of the commission and it is not happening nor will it happen until there are responsible commissioners.”
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The evident blockage in other lines of work in the sector, and especially the delay in the appointment of civil servants, is a reality that other portfolios have gone through. But, a year after Petro took office, experts find it inexplicable. By mid-July, the resume of electrical engineer Ángela María Sarmiento was published on the ministry’s website as the new Vice Minister of Energy. However, a few hours later, parallel to the departure of Irene Vélez as head of the portfolio, the resume abruptly disappeared and today the position has been vacant for six months.
The word “stress” is also repeated in the words of Milton Montoya, director of the department of mining and energy law at the Externado University. “The vice ministries, both Mines and Energy, have had appointees during this administration who have lasted at most six months.” According to his experience, the message of “concern” is undeniable: “They are vice ministries of execution, in charge of landing the public policies that are formulated. “They are technically complex sectors that are unlikely to achieve results in less than a year.” In addition, Montoya adds, there is no monitoring of the evolution of the Government plan on the ground and the officials who arrive “need a learning curve time and to form their team.”
“Those of us who are reviewing the data are very concerned about Colombia’s scenario in 2025 or 2026,” Montoya concludes, “in terms of the capacity to supply the demand for electrical energy and gas, and for the projects to actually come into operation. renewables that face problems with prior consultations and relationships with the communities in La Guajira, for example.” Tomás González, who was vice minister and minister of Mines and Energy, adds that navigating without vice ministers is comparable to publishing a newspaper without editors: “It will have fewer and worse stories. The difference is that in the public sector what you have to produce is public policies and regulation. The vice minister coordinates, organizes, and establishes an agenda with companies in the sector. Without that, everything becomes very difficult.”
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