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Public utilities in Colombia are operated by private companies and regulated by the government. ==Government policy== At the end of the 1980s, public services in Colombia were of low quality; the charges made to consumers were determined politically and were insufficient to finance the operation of those services. Furthermore, the cost structures were highly inefficient. This situation was created by a deficient legal framework and the monopolistic role played by the state since the beginning of the twentieth century.〔Roberto Steiner and Hernán Vallejo. "Public Utilities". In (''Colombia: A Country Study'' ) (Rex A. Hudson, ed.). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (2010). 〕 The constitution of 1991 gave private initiative a major role in providing public utilities and allowed the government to regulate the sector. The government made improving the provision of public utilities to the vulnerable sectors of society a key goal. These general objectives became the responsibility of the Public Utilities Regime, which provides for increasing coverage, promoting privatization of utilities, developing a tariff regime, and giving consumers a supervisory role. The regime created three regulatory commissions (for electricity, telecommunications, and water and sanitation) and an organization for the promotion, supervision, and control of competition called the Residential Public Services Superintendency (SSPD).〔 As a result of the reforms, which naturally generated resistance in certain sectors of society, particularly among union workers, provision of all services has improved significantly. For example, between 1990 and 2003 electricity coverage increased from 80 to 95 percent of the population; drinking water, from 67 to 87 percent; sewerage, from 50 to 72 percent; and local telephone service, from 8 to 22 percent. Natural gas service began in the mid-1990s, and coverage increased from 20 percent in 1997 to 35 percent of the population in 2003. One possible explanation for the comparatively low coverage in natural gas is that expanding its rural availability is very expensive. The quality of ancillary services has risen, and today it is possible to pay most public-utility charges by phone or Internet.〔 Throughout the process, rates for most public utilities, including drinking water and electricity, have gone up in real terms. This increase in charges has meant lower dependency on public funds to cover the cost of supplying these services. It also has meant that consumption has fallen as a result of the higher prices, delaying the need for further investments in order to increase installed capacities of different services. Some rates also have gone down, as in the case of waste collection for multiple users (for example, buildings or housing complexes), and of international phone calls.〔 Despite these improvements, there is a need for much more progress in improving the regulatory framework, fostering competition, reducing production costs, and allowing consumers to benefit more from some of these efficiency gains.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Public utilities in Colombia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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