Mario Gonzales: “There is no country with electromobility without State intervention”

The general manager of Luz del Sur, Mario Gonzalez, gave an interview to the newspaper The Republic about the development of the electromobility in Peru and the need to implement public policies to encourage more Peruvians to be encouraged by cars with electric motor.

—What is the situation in Peru regarding electromobility?

—Unfortunately, we are in a preliminary stage, there is not even an electromobility policy. This situation has generated seven bills that are already in Congress, one of them is being prepared by the Executive. Although a law has not yet been defined, three years ago the first isolated purchases of individual imports of electric vehicles. At the end of 2022, there were 200 throughout the country.

—What incentives are there to buy electric vehicles?

—There are three main reasons: the first is that they are state-of-the-art technology and world-renowned brands have already announced that, after 2030, they will not manufacture traditional combustion vehicles. The second is the issue of economy because moving is 70% cheaper than in a gasoline one, either due to the cost of fuel or maintenance. The third is that this type of car does not generate carbon dioxide emissions or greenhouse gases and, therefore, it is a fee to the environment that each person is giving.

—What should the package of measures announced by Produce address?

—The State must provide facilities for an electric vehicle, whose production cost is higher than a traditional one. What other countries have done is to see that the price to the public of the two transports are equal, and for that they have implemented the reduction or elimination of taxes for a period of time, either ISC, IGV or the famous import duties. Other countries have added a bonus. I don’t know of any country in which the electromobility industry has developed without state intervention. It must also be defined for which sectors you want to use these cars: urban transport, interprovincial, urban public, private. If it is urban transport, for example, cities have to have electric charging centers in the right places. The third is to encourage demand by giving instructions so that public institutions (municipalities, Serenazgo, Police, etc.) have a minimum percentage of electric vehicles.

—Are conversions a good initiative?

-Yeah. What the minister (of Production) said is something that has developed in France and they are doing it in Chili. New vehicles are for an economic sector, be it industrial, commercial or private; who has purchasing power. However, not everyone can. Many people have their car 5 or 10 years old, which could replace the combustion engine with an electric one and the fuel tank with a battery, that would mean an investment between a third or fifth of buying a new car. It is giving a second life at a lower cost.

—What are the projections of Luz del Sur?

—This 2023, 10% of our fleet should be electric vehicles. Likewise, in coordination with the State regulations, we are looking at the way to venture into private charging centers and collaborate for the conversion of the electric vehicle fleet of companies big. We have inaugurated the first electric charging station in partnership with the Municipality of Miraflores, but it will not be the last one that we are going to do within our concession area, which covers 2,500 square kilometers. We are in talks with other municipalities.

Is an increase in electricity rates expected?

—We have to see the projection, if the exchange rate, inflation, natural gas rises; therefore, the rate goes up. What I can perceive is that the worst part is over and the situation is normalizing. He COVID, that caused demand reduction; excess freight costs for the ukrainian war and political instability, which caused low investment. Within one to two years, we should see rates for regulated consumers drop.