Company News, Regulation & Policy Sep 29, 2021 4:46 PM
The Colombian Association of Large Industrial and Commercial Energy Consumers (Asoenergia) spoke about XM and its independence following the deal between Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) and ISA.
Asoenergia called for XM to maintain its independence and guarantee transparent management of the wholesale energy market and the development of energy information solutions and services, La Republica reported.
Sandra Fonseca, Executive Director of Asoenergía, said that the transaction between ECP and ISA makes it necessary to redouble efforts to maintain XM’s independence.
“Asoenergía calls for the timely adoption of the corresponding measures to make XM independent as a subsidiary of ISA, so that its transparency is not compromised by the integration approved in the transaction,” Fonseca said.
The entity said that the purchase of ISA’s shares by Ecopetrol “implies that the company that manages the energy market (XM) is now part of ECP, which requires a different administration and management of the information than was previously done”.
In addition, Asoenergía highlighted the closing of the first stage of the Third Renewable Energy Auction.
“This process reported a 90% increase in the number of buyers, going from 29 in 2019 to 55 buyers this year. As for the sellers, they went from 39 to 52 reflecting an increase of 33% by 2021,” the entity highlighted.
Asoenergía believes that XM, acting as auctioneer, must evaluate the compliance of each and every registrant’s requirements so that they comply with the specifications, terms and conditions established.
The entity expects that the projects will comply with the established guarantees and goals, and that unlike the previous renewable energy auction, there will be no delays.
Bottom-Line: ECP and the government must take action on XM, as complaints about a potential conflict of interest continue to grow.
The NOC has tried to send messages of reassurance, arguing that it will respect corporate governance, but this is not enough, and market players need more concrete actions to guarantee the market’s proper functioning.
