The Ministry of Energy will analyze the elimination of the reliability charge, but unions warn of serious risks.

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma, confirmed that the possibility of eliminating the reliability charge paid by all users of the Colombian electricity system will be reviewed.

He explained that the reliability charge is intended for generating plants to ensure the reliability of the electrical system under critical hydrological conditions, for example, during an El Niño event.

"We should review who is entitled to this income and who is not. The possibility of eliminating this fee, which costs users 6.2 billion pesos annually, will be reviewed," explained Minister Edwin Palma.

The reliability charge is paid by users through their monthly electricity bill, and the measure being considered by the Minister of Mines and Energy would reduce this charge to less than half.

However, Asocodis' executive director, José Camilo Manzur, asserted that decisions cannot be made that would cause investors to have problems building new generation plants in Colombia.

"The reliability charge is an instrument that has encouraged the expansion of Colombia's power generation infrastructure for nearly 30 years. In fact, many countries have come to study the Colombian case," he emphasized.

He also stated that signals are needed to encourage expansion because "currently, the gap between supply and demand is very small, and this hinders the availability of energy for contracts and price fluctuations on the energy exchange."