Global Courant
San Pedro Sula
On August 18, 2016, the Honduras Energy Company (eeh) began to operate in the country with three objectives: to reduce losses due to the theft of energy, to take charge and improve the distribution network with investments and to commercialize the service.
Seven years later, and less than three months after the end of the contract that was granted – without the possibility of being renewed -, voices that come from various social sectors of the country assure that the company failed in almost everything that was entrusted to it and worse still, that the National Electric Power Company (enee) is not preparing in advance to assume those functions.
At the moment it has transpired that it would be the National Loss Reduction Program (PNRP) which will assume all the functions that the eehtherefore its role would no longer be limited only to avoiding or reducing losses due to theft or technical failures through meter changes, and other strategies, as it has done since it began operations, but would be in charge of the entire range of services that provided by the Colombian capital company that is already on its way out.
About the PNRP
> It has distributed nearly 400 crews in seven regions of the country to combat energy theft. According to Enee data, its work is to carry out meter installations, illegal connection cuts, regularization of high consumers and the review of high and medium consumers. To date, they have installed 33,050 new meters for residential consumers and more than 250 remotely managed smart meters for large consumers.
He PNRP born as a dependency enee to assume the role of loss control that was taken away from eeh in July 2022, but operations began in mid-November.
Earrings
That enee make measurement again and take charge of distribution and marketing already has some sectors concerned.
For the senior expert on electrical issues of the Association for a More Just Society, the economist Edgar Aguilar, that the PNRP is in charge of the distribution and commercialization of energy, forces him to imagine what this program or the one who will , it should already be doing to ensure a smooth transition and that it does not affect consumers.
“First, that they report on the reassignment of roles, that they detail how they are progressing with the purchase of materials, what is their plan in the room to the staff of the eeh (if the enee Will it absorb all or only a part), how are they going with the logistical preparations, if there is already contracting to maintain the network with the different contractors and if they will continue with them; how the transfer is being handled and the servers with databases that have information on all clients nationwide, and that is national security information, or if they are going to continue renting the spaces where they are currently. How the transfer of information from critical systems to interconnected systems that are operated remotely is being treated”, among other details. “In three months you have to know what is going to continue, what is not going to continue or what will be maintained, but in a different way. That clarity must already exist because we cannot wait for August 18 to arrive ”, he urged.
Erick Tejada, manager of the National Electric Power Company and Minister of Energy, pointed out during a forum on Channel 8, “that the contract with eeh It was not only a bad decision, but it was harmful to the public interest and flawed from its origin” and for this reason, within the framework of the reform of the electricity sector, the Enee assumed the reduction of losses, a task that it failed to carry out. eeh. A few weeks ago, in conversation with THE PREMIUM PRESSTejada said that there are already seven tables installed working on the transition of the eeh to the enee without providing details what progress they had reached so far.
And the resources?
Luis Suazo, an electrical engineer and expert in the field, doubts that the enee re-assume the roles that one day you granted to a private company that did not work either.
“They ask me if I think the enee is ready to transition its distribution system from the hands of eeh to that state company. Before answering, I rather think that it is necessary to answer with another question: will Enee have the financial resources to guarantee the quality of the service, minimizing interruptions, promptly responding to contingencies, with sufficient qualified personnel, the necessary equipment and systems? for the acceptable operation of the distribution system?
“ I hope that planning is being done to avoid more problems for Enee and its subscribers. “
Luis Suazo, expert in electrical issues
Although Suazo points out that he does not know the details of the transition, “what I can answer is that I hope that every detail is being planned, to avoid adding more problems to the enee and their subscribers. Currently facing a rationing crisis due to lack of capacity and power transmission, high electrical losses, and having to subsidize a large part of its subscribers, the company does not need any more problems for now, such as its reading, billing and collection system. I was late, for example. Any delay in his meager income would have serious consequences for his finances, suppliers, financiers and finally the resources of the State, ”he explained.
With the 180 degree vision that can be done from the enee Based on his experience, he dared to conjecture: “But let’s assume for a moment that this delicate issue of billing and collection is being properly handled in advance so that there is no stumbling block; there are still other important distribution system reliability issues that require sufficient cash for human, technological and financial resources as soon as possible, as the current distribution network is neglected and has not been invested in properly since the famous project’ 7 cities’”.
Data
> 10-12% is the loss reduction percentage that the PNRP has set as a goal for this government. This year the goal is to drop 4%, which represents $84 million, that is, almost L2,100 million. > 38% was the percentage of losses with which the current administration found the Enee due to the lack of investment and the bad decision to hire the EEH. > 3.6 billion dollars is the current value of all of Enee’s assets, from distribution networks to hydroelectric plants. > 200,000 Enee clients receive averaged bills due to the deficit of 500,000 uninstalled meters left by EEH.
He adds that “having learned from the failed experiment of subcontracting miraculous companies to solve problems of electrical losses and the disastrous consequences for the economic development of the country that these adventures leave us, including even international lawsuits, the State will shortly assume the delicate task of ensuring May the same mistakes not be made again.
For this reason, it considers that it is essential that the transition of the distribution system towards a management led by enee not only take care that the planning is done by experienced and trained personnel, but also that the necessary resources exist for any plan to be fulfilled and to achieve the objectives set for a transition that comes to improve the quality of Enee’s service for its subscribers .
complete fiasco
For the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of CortésEduardo Facussé, the country faces not one, but several energy crises.
He considers that one has been provoked by the fiasco that the Honduras Energy Company.
“ Unfortunately there is a polarization between the public and private sectors, and that does not help. “
Eduardo Facussé, president of the CCIC
“We have seen through the years the deterioration of the state and the truth is that we are very sorry for the lack of love that has been shown. I very much question the work of the managers who have been in charge of the state company, especially in previous administrations, they really left us a disaster. That contract with eeh It turned out to be a fiasco and no one has been held accountable for that disaster. I publicly regret it and ask that those people who signed that contract be persecuted, because things were not done well. And there is a lot of doubt, not only about the contract itself, but about those who continue to manage that contract, ”he deplored in conversation with a radio outlet.
Later, we asked him if he thought the enee would have the ability to succeed eeh in the roles that he has been performing, and he was emphatic: “I don’t know if the enee is capable of absorbing this function”.
