The Congress of the Republic of Colombia approved the bill that guarantees a subsidy for access to the essential public service of natural gas, for low-income families, equivalent to 70% of the value of the connection and internal installation.
This subsidy will apply for new social interest (VIS) and priority (VIP) homes, as well as for the housing improvement program.
The remaining 30% of the costs It can be paid through financing with financial institutions or directly by the user.
“This milestone is very important for Colombia, since natural gas has become the gateway for poor households to the energy transition,” said Naturgas.
According to the union, the initiative, presented by House Representative Carolina Arbeláez, promotes the replacement of polluting cooking fuels such as firewood, with a low-emission resource such as natural gas.
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“In this way, the quality of life of these families is improved and it contributes to reducing respiratory diseases, mainly in women, the elderly and children,” the union stated.
Likewise, Naturgas explained that This law unblocks the main bottleneck to access natural gas service in lower strata, who today have to pay between $1.5 and $2 million to pay for the connection and internal installation of the service..
According to Luz Stella Murgas, president of Naturgas, “this law will not only transform the lives of 1.5 million families who still depend on firewood for cooking, it will also allow them to have a healthier environment and decent housing. This is a fundamental step to consolidate a fair energy transition for all Colombians, close inequality gaps and overcome energy poverty.”
According to the Association, This project not only guarantees access to natural gas service in VIP and VIS homes, it also increases the well-being of families, freeing up time from domestic activities traditionally headed by women and alleviates economic burdens to access other types of basic goods and services.
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“Although this project represents a great advance in terms of massification of the natural gas service in Colombia, it invites us to give priority to continuing to add reserves to extend our self-sufficiency, maintain the supply of current and future demand in all homes,” he emphasized. the president of Naturgas.
“The industry reiterates its commitment to continue collaborating closely with the national and local governments and communities, in order to ensure the successful implementation of this initiative, and promote the generation and use of renewable energy with the support of natural gas, which will help to consolidate the energy transition in the country,” the entity concluded.
