The organic law on energy competitiveness approved by the National Assembly not only gives way to a legal framework for improving the infrastructure for production, transmission and distribution and encouraging self-supply systems, by installing production systems with non-renewable sources. conventional, but changes to the Tax Regime Act are included in the process.

There are objections in the business sectors, but the law had 131 votes of members of the assembly on the night of Wednesday, January 11, to approve what the government calls the Law on Prohibition of Power Outages.

As reform provisions, the document adopted by the plenary session replaces and adds provisions in the Tax Regime Law to include in income tax deductions the costs incurred in the construction of new distribution networks and infrastructure to supply the electricity demand of commercial and industrial customers who are isolated from the distribution network and have the consent of the electricity distribution companies in the area of ​​influence.

But in this first reform provision it is also established that personal expenses declared by taxpayers for income tax reduction – in addition to spending on clothing, education, food, health and housing and tourism – are taken into account, other items that are currently not allowed:

The law was forwarded to the executive authority for comment.

As one of the benefits of the law, the government highlights the interest waiver for citizens for paying for the public electricity service.

In addition to the promotion of territorial development projects, the disposal of the necessary funds for energy saving initiatives, the creation of the Energy Efficiency Fund, among others.

“The articles will ease the fiscal coffers and mark the way to work on a true energy policy that will definitively eliminate the rationing of electric services in Ecuador,” the Ministry of Energy and Mining indicated as soon as the emergency law was approved in the National Assembly.