The Board of Directors of the National Electrification Institute (Inde) required a series of audits on what was authorized by that institution in recent years.
According to the Minister of Energy and Mines, Víctor Hugo Ventura, who also chairs the (Inde), the proposed legal and accounting reviews will be carried out internally, but also through the Comptroller General of Accounts, with emphasis on the acquisitions and contracts carried out by the methods of Direct Purchase; Invitation to Quote; Invitation to Offer; and Special Contracts, all of which had to be executed based on the Purchasing, Contracting and Disposal Regulations of Inde.
The entity added that the audit sample is being determined with the application of risk management and by its materiality (which refers to the risk in contracting a service or good and its function according to the value of the purchase) and by having The results will be made known, since “Inde is a public institution subject to supervision by the Comptroller General of Accounts and any supervisory body.”
The second issue refers to a review of Inde’s performance, which is considered essential because it is responsible for activities such as transportation and energy generation, and others such as rural electrification.
Ventura explained that it must be taken into account that this is the only entity that has hydroelectric plants that reserve water in the reservoirs to generate later, so “the performance will be measured to be sure that the entity is doing its job well. and if not, take corrective measures.”
In 2023, the entity managed a budget of Q3,135 million and by 2024 the figure rises to Q3,427.7 million, so that “transparency must be the credo of Inde as an institution and therefore all officials and employees “They should take it as part of their daily lives,” said the official.
Within these annual budgets is the amount allocated to the social energy rate, a form of subsidy for the lowest consumption segments. From 1999 to 2022, some Q17,14 million were allocated, most of it with resources from Inde, and in some years it was supported with budget allocations from the government.
In 2023 the amount was Q1,124.3 million, and apart from the social contribution, in that year there was an extraordinary subsidy due to the inflationary effect, so of the total, Q501.8 million were contributed by Inde and Q622.4 million by the government.
Dubious projects
As happens every year, Inde has promoted various projects, many of which have come to fruition, but others have been suspended for various reasons.
For example, in 2014, Inde approved, by majority vote, a contract for 15 megawatts (MW) of energy generated with coal for a period of 17 years to Compañía Eléctrica La Libertad, SA. On that occasion it was indicated that the price was US$119 per megawatt hour (US$0.12 per kilowatt hour).
The business sector and the Ministry of Economy disapproved of it at that time and in December 2021 the Public Ministry (MP) reported on arrest warrants against several people accused of participating in an alleged anomalous process to create the need for the purchase of electrical energy. . According to the MP, from 2014 to 2021, Inde has paid Q826.8 million to said company.
In 2019, the Institute launched a tender to purchase 110 MW for a period of 20 years with five solar generators that were to be installed in Jutiapa, Zacapa, El Progreso and Santa Rosa. The contracting would be through the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract modality, which is to build, operate and transfer the asset to Inde when the contract ends. The event was suspended.
That same year, it launched another tender to purchase natural gas and was awarded to the company City Petén with a contract term of 13 years, extendable for 15 more years, for a total of 28 years. The price would be, according to the information provided by that institution at the time, US$70 per MW, which would mean an annual payment of US$13.1 million. Although the event was later suspended.
At that time, representatives of the organized business sector and the National Association of Municipalities (Anam) opposed it. Edwin Escobar, who was a representative of the latter entity, said that with the conditions that were explained to them, he would be purchasing at a premium of 40% (above the market price).
At the end of 2022, a co-participation project arose in the generation of 100 to 120 MW with natural gas, for which an invitation to present expressions of interest was published. Eight companies responded and the entity explained that they were preparing the terms of reference. The then president of Inde stated that a contest would be held, but it would not have the form of a tender. The project was suspended in 2023 by decision of Inde.
In June 2023, the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif) reported that there was a lack of transparency in the awarding of another project for the installation of a 10 MW photovoltaic generation system, a contract for Q116. 9 million. The contract was awarded in June 2023 to Samuel Porfirio Ochoa de León, according to NOG de Guatecompras 19138695.
In 2024, the new administration of the entity that took office at the end of January, approved the contracting, at the last minute, of insurance for Q115 million for real estate and personal property that includes generators, substations, vehicles and personnel. Ventura argued that the previous administration left the event unfinished, and they had to approve it two days after taking office because the deadline would expire two days later. The only bidder was the CHN.
International signs
From January 2022 to January 2024, the institution was chaired by Melvin Quijivix Vega, who was previously a delegate of the Government Center, an entity created in 2020 by the government of Alejandro Giammattei. This entity was closed in December of that same year.
Before that period, Inde was directed by the then Minister of Energy and Mines, Alberto Pimentel, who resigned from the position of minister in July 2023.
Quijivix was included in July 2023 on the Engel and Pimentel list in October of that year, according to information from the United States Department of State. The last one was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Law, of that same country, in January 2024.
Multi-million dollar figures
- According to data from Guatecompras, from 2004 to February 21, 2024, Inde has published 55,564 events with Guatecompras Operation Number (NOG), of which, 51,706 were awarded for Q19,111.5 million. 3,326 were dispensed with and 498 were declared deserted. To date there are 27 with current status and 5 under evaluation.
- From 2020 to 2023, 32,872 events appear in the system, with NOG, of which 31,395 appear awarded for Q9,288.9 million, and 1,3320 were dispensed with. (The amount awarded in this period represents 48.6% of the total awarded from 2004 to date in 2024).
- From 2016 to 2019, 18,886 events were uploaded, of which 17,466 were awarded for Q5,3.7 million and 89 were deserted. (In this case the amount awarded represents 26.1% of the total awarded from 2004 to date in 2024).
- In the last 8 years, awards represent 74.78% of the total awarded from 2004 to February 21, 2024.
- Purchases classified as Guatecompras Publication Number (NPG), and awarded, according to said system, were 28,882 from 2004 to February 2024, for Q8,492.7 million. In this modality, the largest amounts of purchases occurred between 2012 and 2014 for figures ranging from Q1,980 million to Q2,318 million.
NOTE: According to the system, NPG are all purchases and contracting carried out by public entities and non-governmental organizations, regulated by the Reforms to the Contracting Law, Decree 27-2009, which establishes making purchases directly, cases by exception or special procedures. from non-governmental entities that do not require a public tender, it is explained on the Guatecompras page. Depending on the criteria, they may be direct purchases of less than Q90 thousand or purchases due to exceptional cases, according to article 44 of the State Procurement Law.
The experts speak
Analyst Jorge García Chiu, consultant and former vice minister of energy, said that the entire budget execution of the institution should be audited in general, from minor purchases that could break up large acquisitions, to those carried out through quotation or bidding processes.
Apart from transparency, he stated that the priorities of the new administration should be to increase the generation of electrical energy with new projects, expand the transportation system, continue with rural electrification programs and develop isolated renewable generation projects for the most vulnerable communities. distant
The other challenge is to involve communities and municipalities in new generation projects, as strategic partners and with tangible benefits for their development. Otherwise, social opposition to new projects will continue, he added.
Meanwhile, Carmen Urizar, consultant, former Minister of Energy and Mines, and former president of the National Electrical Energy Commission, believes that it is natural and positive that the new minister and president of Inde requires a complete audit for the institution, which by law should always be done. “It is important that the minister wants to know how the institution, which is the largest in the country from the point of view of public ownership, is doing.”
Regarding what to audit, he mentioned that its operations are divided into investment and operation, and due to the type of activities carried out by the entity such as generation, transmission and marketing, large purchases are made in the first two areas, so The new administration must know how the hiring has been, how it is being executed and what budget it will require, as well as the future decisions it must make.
“In terms of investment, it is essential to understand what type of activity was spent on and what type of purchases were made in that area; “If they have already been awarded, it is important to see the degree of progress and when they are scheduled for and with the announced audit I perceive that we want to have peace of mind, that they were awarded in a transparent manner and that the processes were completed in accordance with standards that promoted competition.” , added the expert.
Furthermore, due to the specialized and technical nature of the institution’s activities, “it is interesting to see what personnel it has, since, for example, before the 1996 reform, public entities were used by governments to provide employment.”
Finally, both analysts agree that as long as Inde has to take charge of the electricity subsidy, it will be very difficult for it to achieve the objectives it has as an institution. “In the audit, we must first recognize that the issue of the social rate has always been questioned, since it is a financial burden for the institution, which has stopped investing.”
Board of Directors
How the Inde Board of Directors was formed, starting in 2024, after the change of government:
· Víctor Hugo Ventura Ruiz, president. He is the Minister of Energy and Mines.
· Carlos Antonio Mendoza Alvarado, vice president. He is the secretary of Segeplan.
· Adriana Gabriela García Pacheco, Minister of Economy, titular representative.
· Adrián Zapata Alamilla, vice minister of Economy, substitute representative on behalf of Mineco.
· Wendy Sánchez Cacao, substitute on behalf of Segeplan.
· Apart from Minister Ventura, who is the head of the MEM, that portfolio has not assigned a substitute.
· Juan José Porras Castillo and German Obiols Noal, head and substitute of the Business Associations.
· Gustavo Adolfo Cano Villatoro (mayor of Huehuetenango), incumbent for the Anam; and Nery Alfonso Rodriguez Revolorio (mayor of Santa Cruz de Quiché), deputy.
· Samuel Nenroth Hernández Orantes, head of the country’s workers’ associations and/or unions, and Walter José Pérez Castellanos, substitute.
· The secretary of the Board of Directors is Ramón Aníbal Romero Soto, who is also the general manager of Inde.
Source: List of entity representatives are data from the Inde website and MEM.
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