Colombia rolls out new incentives to cut electricity consumption as dry weather persists
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government on Tuesday rolled out new incentives to reduce electricity consumption in the South American nation, which has been hit by a severe drought that has diminished the capacity of local hydroelectric plants and brought officials close to imposing power cuts.
The ministry of mines and energy said that in the following weeks homes and businesses that exceed their average monthly electrical consumption will be charged additional fees for every extra kilowatt-hour used, while those who use less electricity than usual will be rewarded with discounts.
Officials in Colombia hope the measures will help to reduce consumption and help local reservoirs recover.
“We want to stop the waste of electricity, especially among large consumers,” Andrés Camacho, Colombia’s mines and energy minister, wrote on X. He added that a decision to shut down government offices last Friday and a recent uptick in rain raised the level of local reservoirs by about 2% over the weekend.