46 of 50 drinking water and sewage providers were sanctioned between 2020 and 2021

The National Superintendence of Sanitation Services (Sunass) reported that, between 2020 and 2021, it imposed 160 sanctions on 46 of the 50 drinking water and sewerage companies in the country, for committing administrative infractions, failing to meet management or other obligations to the detriment of the service provided to users.

The main reasons for the 65 sanctions imposed on 37 companies during 2020 were failure to meet management (37%), not implementing corrective measures (23%), not making disbursements or using resources for purposes other than funds and reserves (19%), not informing users or Sunass about service cuts (9%), failing to comply with good corporate governance obligations (6%) and applying a different rate structure or formula (6%).

Meanwhile, the main reasons for the 95 sanctions imposed on 43 companies during 2021 were non-compliance with corrective measures (60%), not informing users or Sunass about power outages. service (15%), failing to meet management goals (13%), not making disbursements or using resources for purposes other than funds and reserves (8%) and others (4%).

It is important to indicate that part of the sanctions imposed during 2020 come from supervisions carried out before the pandemic, while in 2021 the sanctions considered the impact of the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 on the management of sanitation services, which affected the collection of companies, as well as the contribution to their investment funds and reserves and, therefore, its ability to meet its management goals.

This is how Sunass, in June 2020, as part of its regulatory response to deal with the crisis, issued a rule that allowed providers to request a rate review that, among other aspects, suspended the management goals established in its study. tariff in force and therefore its control. Altogether 36 EPS accepted the tariff review and began processes to establish their new goals, which explains the reduction in sanctions imposed for non-compliance with the goals of management during 2021.

sanctions

Of the 160 sanctions imposed between 2020 and 2021, the main type of sanction in both periods was the written warning (66% in 2020 and 85% in 2021), in second place, the written warning plus corrective measure (17% and 9%, respectively), in third place the fine (11% and 4%, respectively) and in last place the removal of the director of EPS (6% and 2%, respectively).

The written reprimand was the most recurrent type of sanction due to the fact that in June 2020 Sunass, in order to safeguard the continuity and sustainability of the service in a context of maximum need of the population, issued a rule that established the power to impose written reprimand instead of a fine to the EPS that prove that their collection had been affected, by at least 20%, due to the pandemic. With them, it was sought that the companies use these resources to continue providing their services in optimal conditions, without for that reason ceasing to exercise the sanctioning function according to law.