Extra charges are already being levied on electricity bills: to whom does it apply?

In order to comply with the decree establishing the state of emergency in La Guajira, as from August, the electric power companies included an additional charge in the service bill.

This additional charge corresponds to the collection and collection among its users of the mandatory contributions established in this provision and which are part of the measures to address the humanitarian crisis in that region of the country.


According to the regulation, this payment will be applied with "the purpose of overcoming the humanitarian crisis (...) or avoiding the extension of its effects, within the framework of the State of Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency declared in the department of La Guajira".

For whom does it apply?

The inclusion of this charge in the energy bill was made with a view to collect the necessary resources to meet the needs of the department. Thus, these collections will be "destined to energy solutions in the department of La Guajira in Non-Interconnected Zones (ZNI) for the rural population".

In the case of residential customers of strata 4, 5 and 6, the established charge is $1,000, while for commercial and industrial users the additional amount is $5,000.

The measure is contemplated for a term of six months and is expected to raise more than 51 billion pesos.

The text of the decree explains that this determination is based on the fact that "as from stratum 4, the average values to be paid are higher than $100,000, so that there are users with a payment capacity that allows generating a contribution in the value to be paid of each invoice that does not substantially affect their payment condition".

In addition, it points out that the percentage of these users corresponds to 19% of the national total and "whose purchasing power could contribute to the emergency condition".