By March 2008, more than 30,000 households on the Caribbean coast and in southwest Colombia had received a subsidy to cover the cost of connecting to natural gas, thanks to a project sponsored by Promigas and the World Bank Global Partnership on Output-based Aid (GPOBA).

The World Bank selected this project - a Promigas initiative implemented by its distribution companies and Fundación Promigas – because of the objective, which is to promote sustainable, long-term development on the Caribbean coast and in southwest Colombia.

Thanks to this effort, low-income families are being included in a process begun 10 years ago to promote the widespread use of natural gas.  Today, 4.5 million people in Colombia (almost 45% of the population) use natural gas.

"We are convinced that making natural gas available in more communities and to more people will improve the quality of their lives. For that reason, we are working every day to help those who cannot afford the cost of connecting to this service,” says Antonio Celia, President of Promigas.

The goal of enabling selected households to enjoy the lifestyle benefits of natural gas, compared to other energy alternatives, is expected to be met by the end of the year. The benefits include savings, security and an environmentally friendly source of fuel.

Although the subsidy covers 38% of the total cost of connecting to natural gas, many families simply do not have the money to pay the rest immediately.  So, the distribution companies help by financing the remaining 62% of the cost, payable within a period of six years.

The success of the project is based on four stages. (1) Low-income households (brackets 1 and 2) are identified on the basis of the Domestic Public Utilities Act. (2) The connections are installed by the distribution companies, and compliance with quality standards is documented. (3) Each connection is checked and technical inspections are conducted at random by Fundación Promigas. (4) GPOBA does a final check to verify the inspections done by Fundación Promigas, and the funds are disbursed.

The project is part of a permanent commitment assumed by Promigas to make natural gas available to needy Colombians. That initiative has already achieved important results, such as those experienced by more than 10,000 families in 13 cities and towns on the Caribbean coast of Colombia who have benefited from a one-million euro cooperation agreement with the Dutch government to finance residential connection to natural gas. This is the same objective as the project with the World Bank.

To access the document published by the World Bank, click: http://www.gpoba.org/docs/OBApproaches17_ColombiaNatGas.pdf

About GPOBA

The Global Partnership on Output-based Aid (GPOBA) was founded in January 2003 by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK Government and the World Bank. Its ultimate objective is to finance and document out-put-based aid approaches to support the sustainable delivery of basic services for those least able to afford them. The focus is on the delivery of drinking water, sanitation, telecommunications and transportation, among other services.