Domestic gas dependency makes Cali vulnerable: CIEC report

Given the emergency experienced by the restrictions in the supply of gas in Cali, the Valley and several departments of the coffee region and southwestern Colombia, a study prepared by the Center for Economic Intelligence and Competitiveness -CIEC- of the Secretariat of District Economic Development revealed that natural gas is the most used fuel in homes, which shows a high percentage of people from Cali in a vulnerable situation in the face of a major emergency.

According to the report, other sectors such as trade and services are also exposed to contingencies that endanger their stability. The study, dated 05/25/2023, and based on data provided by Gases de Occidente, shows that in 2022 75% of its subscribers are residential, 23% are users of the commercial sector and only 2% are part of the sector industrial.

Regarding the fuel used by people from Cali to cook food, the CIEC indicates, based on the Great Integrated Household Survey, GEIH-DANE, that 87.2% of homes in Cali use natural gas through connection to the public network, approximately 681 thousand homes; It is followed by pipette propane gas, with 7.4%, approximately 58 thousand homes. Both sources of energy are used by about 95% of Cali’s homes. Note that electric power is used by 2.8% as the main means of preparing food, which is equivalent to just over 20,000 homes.

“In this context, the report specifies that those most affected by the restriction of the supply of natural gas in the city were, are and would be in another emergency, the homes of Cali and a good part of the commercial sector, especially the service establishments of meals and lodging, which leads us to reflect on the measures to be taken to avoid a great impact in a larger or more prolonged event”, said Járrinson Martínez Collazos, Secretary of Economic Development of Cali.

The report indicates that, for DANE, one aspect to take into account is the definition of household, with the aim of differentiating between connected dwellings and affected users, which is characterized by inhabiting more than one household in the same dwelling; Under this consideration, 32,000 households in Cali share the home with an additional household, that is, 4.5%, according to data from 2022.

Thus, prevalences were established for the type of energy used by households in Cali for cooking, based on the socioeconomic stratification for the collection of the electrical energy service of the homes in which said households live, finding that the low socioeconomic strata They have a higher prevalence, 74.2%, in the connection to the public network and 16.5% in the use of Propane Gas (pipettes), contrasting with the middle stratum where around 95% is connected to the network. natural gas.

In summary, the CIEC investigation of the Secretariat of Economic Development of Cali reveals a high vulnerability for households and the commercial sector of the city, particularly for the low, medium-low social strata and micro-entrepreneurs who have less financial capacity to respond with technological changes to deal with this type of emergency.