The pedagogical period of the energy-saving program was just a paper formality for thousands of Air-e users, denounces the Barranquilla Ombudsman's Office

NewsSome users are being charged without having known their target. Air-e says 800,000 customers maintained or reduced their consumption. The unit cost of energy rose to $840.15 per kilowatt hour for users in Atlántico, Magdalena and La Guajira. Photo: EL TIEMPOJOURNALIST10.08.2026 16:04 Updated: 10.08.2026 16:04 The District Ombudsman's Office of Barranquilla described the temporary program of incentives for efficient energy use launched by the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) on September 1 as misleading, harmful and discriminatory. READ ALSO According to the entity, thousands of users in the Caribbean region are receiving additional charges without having had the trial period that the same regulation promised. The complaint targets Air-e, the company that provides the service in Atlántico, Magdalena and La Guajira. The Ombudsman's Office demands that it refrain from charging penalties to affected users and re-bill or refund what it has already charged. A trial period that came too lateThe program is regulated by resolutions CREG 101 120 and 101 126 of 2026. The latter, in its article 5, established that the first reading cycle would be educational, with no enforceable charges, so that people could learn their consumption target and adjust their habits before being penalized. The Barranquilla ombudsman Miguel Ángel Alzate Salcedo Photo:Ombudsman's Office. The problem, according to district ombudsman Miguel Ángel Alzate Salcedo, is that this promise was not fulfilled for everyone. For users whose reading cycle closed in the first days of September, their educational period was a cycle consumed almost entirely in August, when the program did not even exist and no one knew their target. READ ALSO By the time those people received the information, the cycle in which charges would begin was already underway. "For them, the educational period was just a piece of paper," the statement notes. Hundreds of complaints from strata 1 and 2The Ombudsman's Office says it is currently receiving hundreds of complaints from citizens, many from strata 1 and 2, who are being billed additional charges without the adaptation period the regulation intended to guarantee. According to the entity, this affects the pockets of the most vulnerable households and violates the principle of equality among users. The third objection is regional. The program applies the same penalty rules across the country, without distinguishing between climates. "In the Caribbean region, with high temperatures year-round, the use of fans and air conditioners is not a luxury, but a basic necessity for health and a dignified life," the document states, adding that measuring with the same yardstick someone who lives in a cold climate and someone who lives in the Caribbean "is treating as equal what is unequal." The Ombudsman's Office says it receives hundreds of complaints about charges from the energy saving program. Photo:Air-eIn addition to the demand made to Air-e, the Ombudsman's Office asked the CREG to review the program so that it recognizes the climatic and social differences between regions and so that the educational period is the first complete reading cycle after the program's start. It asked the Superintendence of Public Utility Services to monitor how the measure is applied and what information users receive. It invited those affected to file a complaint with Air-e and to turn to the Ombudsman's Office, which says it is ready to support them. What Air-e saysAir-e, which remains under the Superintendence's intervention, released a report on the first month without addressing the complaints or the educational period. According to the company, around 800,000 users maintained or improved their consumption during September, despite the high temperatures. Ramiro Castilla, new intervenor of Air-e Photo:CourtesyAccording to those figures, around 396,000 users consumed below their individual target and received benefits, while some 258,000 exceeded the threshold and increased their consumption. The company recalled that the program was designed by the CREG, with support from the national government, the Superintendence and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, as a measure to promote the rational use of energy in light of the El Niño phenomenon. READ ALSO Air-e's special agent, Ramiro Castilla Andrade, considered that the results show there is room to strengthen the culture of efficient use. "These results are a positive signal because they demonstrate that, even amid high temperatures, it is possible to optimize energy consumption. The challenge is for these good practices to become permanent habits," he emphasized. Follow all the news from Colombia on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter. 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