The Industrial University of Santander (UIS) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy took a significant step toward securing the country’s energy future. At a meeting led by UIS Rector Hernán Porras Díaz and the Ministry’s Director of Hydrocarbons, Julián Flórez Quiroga, a memorandum of understanding was signed, making the university a key ally in strengthening the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund.
Flórez Quiroga stated that: “We are here signing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Industrial University of Santander (UIS), with the aim of building regulatory mechanisms and gradually reducing the deficit of the Fuel Price Extraction Fund in Colombia.” He also highlighted that “the UIS will be responsible for structuring the regulations and technological strategy that will allow us to implement, through the country’s service stations, the differential price that we will charge in the near future to luxury vehicles or private and diplomatic vehicles at the international parity price for diesel, as opposed to the price that must be paid by public service vehicles those cargo vehicles that impact inflation in Colombia.”
This agreement seeks to combine technical, academic, and scientific efforts in order to generate guidelines that serve as input for the formulation, updating, and consolidation of public policy on fuels, a strategic issue for economic stability and energy transition in Colombia.
Areas of cooperation
The memorandum provides for a broad framework for joint work, including:
- Evaluation of the behavior of the liquid fuel market.
- Development of information systems for the control of differential subsidies.
- Technical and logistical support for pilot programs to implement differential mechanisms.
- Measurement of the fiscal, social, and environmental impact of these mechanisms.
- Public policy proposals focused on targeting spending and advancing the energy transition.
With this alliance, the UIS reaffirms its role as a national leader in research and applied knowledge, while the Ministry of Mines and Energy strengthens the technical basis that underpins decisions with a high impact on the economy and the daily lives of millions of Colombians.
“This is an example of how the union between the state and academia can contribute to concrete solutions for the country’s great challenges,” said Rector Porras Diaz during the meeting.
