The energy service in the Colombian Caribbean has always been a controversial issue. Power outages and high rates have always been the source of complaints and claims. This climate motivated the departure of Electricaribe, giving way to Afinia, a subsidiary entity of EPM, which is now responsible for improving the service in the departments of Bolívar, Sucre, Córdoba and Cesar. On the other hand, the company Air-e is the one that provides the service in Atlántico, Magdalena and La Guajira.
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This medium obtained the information that the Bolívar Regional Attorney’s Office urged the Nation’s Attorney General’s Office to open a preliminary investigation of Natasha Avendaño, Superintendent of Residential Public Services, for allegedly illegally favoring the two energy companies (Air- e and Afinia), harming the users of the Coast.
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Likewise, it was ordered to refer the investigation to the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation so that it may act in accordance with its competence.
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In the face of the two investigations, no recourse is forthcoming, according to the Office of Internal Disciplinary Control of the Superintendency of Residential Public Services.
The processes were motivated by a request for the processing of a popular action filed by Héctor Pérez Fernández, Eduardo Ugarriza Fontalvo, William Murra and Erick Urueta, representatives of oversight offices of Cartagena and Bolívar.
The facts
The inspectors denounced that the superintendent illegally exceeded its functions by asking energy users on the Coast to pay Afinia and Air-e the debts derived from the liquidation of Electricaribe. “If they don’t, they risk service cuts,” they stressed in their office.
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And they added: “These are not functions of the Superintendency, whose main obligation is to monitor and sanction public service companies, functions that Electricaribe never fulfilled, a company that ran over users of the Coast for 20 years. Everything seems to indicate that they will continue in their negligence with the current operators”.
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The official letter also indicates that Afinia has been charging services not provided before October 1, 2020; and in addition, they assure that the company is not competent to collect these debts according to a resolution of the Superintendency.
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This section, the observers conclude, provides that the debts or credits in favor of Electricaribe can only be collected by the settlement entity, that is, the Superintendency and/or Electricaribe, not Afinia. Within the office, the inspectors also affirm that energy rates have increased and that the poor quality of service persists.
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