The country that is not self-sufficient in energy simply has no future. Between now and 2030, the automotive industry will have turned to electric cars, artificial intelligence will be in every home, cell phones will connect all of Colombia from its most unknown corners with 5G or 6G, but the most real thing is that companies They will recover their productive capacity in the face of international markets, but for all this a lot of generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization of energy will be needed, whether renewable or non-renewable, the country cannot stop, nor have the luxury of discarding proven forms and sustainable to move. What remains of this administration, just over 24 months, is the time necessary for the country to take a real leap in energy self-sufficiency and stop ideologizing all its public policies; There are almost 16 million Colombians in a state of poverty, measured by monetary or multidimensional income, and in order to reduce their precariousness, energy is needed. This 2024 has been a year of breakthrough in terms of water: due to value and social awareness, water destined for reservoirs for drinking or dams to produce energy. Everything is configured so that there is a true water authority that transcends ministries, autonomous corporations or secretariats; The liquid is transversal to the entire society and the economy and has not been given the importance it requires; The agribusiness uses it as if it were an infinite resource, while the 14 million families do not have a culture of good management. The crisis represented by fears of electrical rationing, plus the state of the reservoirs that led to a rational use of water consumption in the Capital District, forces the authorities to design a macro water plan, which for the first time in history puts the precious liquid at the center of political discussions. Beyond the use of water, which is a priority, the National Government must begin to carry out large energy projects that speak of its management in the coming decades. It is good that the attention and discussion is on the fact that the level of the reservoirs increased to 30% due to the recent rains, but it is bad if in mid-May the mid-year summer crisis returns. It is a society that has not learned to manage the rains; In Colombia there are no seasons, but there are 12 months divided by the absence or presence of rain, which requires an internalized culture in water management; more so if it is the National Government. The measures that have to do with the April energy bill are well-intentioned and the system takes the user’s reference according to the stratum and type to determine benefits or fines.Consumers who overdo it will contribute as an incentive on the bill to those who lower their reference reading. They are good measures, but it is more expected that the National Government will focus on carrying out large transmission, generation, and distribution works, which will allow business experts to explore possible gas deposits, the fuel of the transition, of which they must increase. the reserves. It would be unforgivable for the Government, which adequately manages the environmental discourse, to let its mandate pass without carrying out the large projects that the economic and social country demands.
La República Newspaper
