The debate between industry associations and the government can be characterized or perhaps caricaturized by the dichotomy in the title. Maybe the debate is fundamental (as the industry associations and liberal economists believe) or maybe it is irrelevant because the two can coexist.
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A recently-published academic article says that, over a twenty-year period, using coal to produce electricity contributes less to greenhouse gases than using natural gas. Natural gas produces less carbon dioxide but more of the more-damaging methane. Do we have energy transition backwards?
Read moreThis week in Hydrocarbons Colombia, we published an article based on an Andeg press release about the government’s proposed carbon tax increase. There are either fundamental errors in the proposal or in Andeg’s interpretation of how it would work.
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Some analysts think there will not be enough generating capacity to satisfy demand as early as 2025. The Minister, unsurprisingly, assures that there will be. Obviously both demand and supply will determine what happens and both are highly uncertain.
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Actually, we did not need XM’s data on electricity demand to know that the Colombian economy passes through a slow patch but it helps that the signals are consistent.
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No this isn’t a Moiré pattern and you are not expected to see John Lennon’s ghost or something like that if you squint at it long enough or under the influence of an inappropriate substance (legal or otherwise). It also isn’t a picture of some fabric design you saw one Sunday at the flea market in Usaquen.
Read moreCanutal, a village nestled in the Montes de María in Ovejas, Sucre, has transformed from a past marred by violence into Colombia's pioneering Comprehensive Energy Community.
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Although XM has not published demand statistics for June, we do have the official summary of supply / generation. As El Niño came to a slow end, someone in authority decided it was over at the end of April and thermoelectric generation fell dramatically. We also check the solar statistics to confirm the positive press releases that came out last week.
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El Niño made it clear that Colombia needs more, non-hydro, generating capacity as climate change increases the risk of drought. Government policy and good environmental stewardship say that will not be thermal. But if the answer says “other nature-based renewables” then the country risks trading one type of variability for another. We looked at XM data from 2023 to see what we could learn.
Read moreEcuador's Acting Minister of Energy and Mines, Roberto Luque, announced the suspension of an electrical interconnection between Ecuador and Colombia amid the halt of exports of this nature between the two countries. This interruption in electrical exchange was justified by the low levels of reservoirs in both Colombia and Ecuador. However, service was recently reestablished.
Read moreWe return to the book The Price is Wrong by Brett Christophers to look at his conclusions and recommendations as well as the implications for Colombia and President Gustavo Petro’s policies.
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El Niño has dried up Colombian reservoirs, sapping the country’s ability to generate hydropower. The entirely predictable consequence is a dramatic increase in thermal generation from fossil fuels, the “Illuminati’s” worst nightmare. Lately, we have zoomed into XM’s data looking at daily statistics to see how the reservoir situation evolves. In this article, we mostly zoom out to monthly data to see what the larger trends might mean, zooming in to look again at Hidroituango.
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Last week we demonstrated declining reservoir levels caused by El Niño and showed the consequences for hydropower generation. We also briefly mentioned what was taking up the slack. Here, we go into that in more, graphic, detail. Guess what? Petro-despised fossil fuel-generated power rises to fill the gap.
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Continuing on from last week’s Thursday Thought we look at some of the relevant factors using disguised data from a member of the Colombian electricity sector.
Read moreEveryone can agree that tariffs should be fair. Who would agree they could be unfair? The Minister of Energy, Andrés Camacho, says “Our goal is to guarantee fair rates.” But what does that mean? Fair to whom? Everyone? Is that even possible? Are Colombian tariffs unfair and how do you make that determination in the first place?
Read moreAs the sun goes down on a Ministry of Energy approved and organized Energy Community, what will happen? Darkness? Grid power? Or will a storage device kick in? The topic has not been discussed much, at least in the press.
Read moreThe challenges posed by the pandemic and the Ukraine invasion in 2023 took a toll on the exports of Community Andean Nations —Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Gonzalo Gutiérrez, the Secretary General of the Andean Community (CAN), sheds light on measures to revive commercial exchange and provides insights into critical initiatives such as the electrical interconnection plan.
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President Gustavo Petro and MinAmbiente Susana Muhamad insist that El Niño is under control. The only really horrific climate-related disaster the country has had was caused by too much rain not too little, a local reminder that higher global temperatures mean more extreme weather not necessarily drier (or wetter for that matter) universally. So what is happening to the country’s hydro reservoirs and what power generation choices do we have?
Read moreThe Colombian Association of Electric Energy Distributors (Asocodis), on the eve of the XIX Electric Energy Distribution Conference, shed light on the challenges confronting the country in terms of the energy transition.
Read moreAt the 20th edition of the National Infrastructure Congress, discussions on energy transition took the spotlight, outlining innovative strides in the sector.
Read moreThe alliance between GreenYellow and the Barranquilla Port marked a significant stride toward greener operations.
Read moreThe future of Colombia's electric grid appears to hinge on a blend of renewable and traditional energy sources, a recent projection by the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) indicates.
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Economic growth, the Colombian government’s plans for electrification and exporting green hydrogen all require significant increases in generating and transmission capacity. So far, the Roadmap and the National Energy Plan update have only looked at demand and how policy makers want to see it served. In October, the UPME published its annual report on capacity requirements to meet this demand.
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“Water under the bridge” refers to “events that are in the past and consequently no longer to be regarded as important”. But with El Niño already drying up Colombia’s hydroelectric dam reservoirs, energy planners have to worry about keeping back all the water they can.
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XM, operator of the National Interconnected System (SIN) and administrator of the Wholesale Energy Market (MEM), reported consumption results for March 2023.
Read moreXM, the operator of the National Interconnected System (SIN), reported the number of new projects added to the SIN in the first quarter of the year.
Read moreThe Colombian Association of Engineers (ACIEM) presented comments on the proposed decree that sets policies and guidelines to promote efficiency and competitiveness in the national electricity service.
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I have been involved with forecasting since the mid 1970s. My undergraduate essay deals with forecasting models and my masters’ concerns the effect of outliers or unusual extreme events on projections. I have built forecasting models for everything from commuter train ticket sales to oil field production and supervised forecasting teams that produced millions of datapoints every year. But I still get surprised when people mix up where forecasts come from and what they mean. The lead graph from the UPME’s latest energy projections (above) illustrates the issue.
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President Gustavo Petro has other problems this week so we have not heard much from his plan to set electricity rates PERSONALLY! Turns out European countries have the same problem of “too high” tariffs and are looking for better solutions than simply making arbitrary cuts. In the UK, some think that making public utilities into so-called “public benefit corporations” would solve the problem but I have my doubts.
Read moreThe Superintendency of Residential Public Utilities (SuperServicios) has made new senior appointments.
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Colombia is discussing energy prices and reservoir levels. Experts spoke on the matter.
Read moreAcolgen's Natalia Gutiérrez spoke about energy prices and why power generators need signs of confidence from the government to move forward with more efficient technologies.
Read moreIn February Colombian President Gustavo Petro will file his government’s National Development Plan (known as PND for its initials in Spanish). The draft shows the importance of decarbonization.
Read moreCenit, a subsidiary of the Ecopetrol Group, reported the acquisition of the Cantayús small hydroelectric power plant (SHP), located in the municipality of Cisneros (Antioquia, Colombia).
Read moreEPM's Jorge Andrés Carrillo spoke about the Hidroituango project.
Read moreThe government wants to get backlogged energy projects from previous auctions into operation, but some of these may be unfeasible.
Read moreEPM announced the contractor that will finish the civil aspect of the first stage of Hidroituango.
Read moreEnel announced that the El Guavio hydroelectric power plant is resuming normal operation.
Read moreI recently read to my 95-year-old mother The Economist’s Technology Quarterly series on high-tech solutions to the climate crisis. She is an able debater and, given her advanced age, she does not worry much about long- or even medium-term impacts (“I won’t have to worry about that”) but recognizes the necessity of doing something today.
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The way MinEnergia talks about the growth of renewable energy you might have thought those “green” electrons were already coursing through the network, elbowing less virtuous ones out of their way. As if in some corny animated ad from the early 1960s, we might see them popping out of the wall socket: bright green for wind and solar electrons, blue for hydroelectric electrons and dirty grey for the fossil fuel generated particles. But no. Not yet. Or at least you would stare at your cartoon wall socket a long time waiting for a green electron.
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XM, the operator of the National Interconnected System (SIN), announced the average water level of reservoirs behind power dams in Colombia.
Read moreYesterday we published the third article this year about Colombia’s plans for adding nuclear energy to the country’s energy matrix. The topic of what is “green” has been getting increasing attention in the local and international press.
Read moreNon-Interconnected Zones (ZNI) are beginning to enjoy electricity service thanks to renewable energy and grid connections.
Read moreColombia loses huge amounts of money every year due to energy inefficiency.
Read moreExperts spoke about the vulnerability of the electrical system in Colombia.
Read moreEsteban Bermudez, UN Environment's Climate Change Mitigation Coordinator, spoke about the ten trends that will mark a shift in electric mobility in the region.
Read moreThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia) authorized the construction of eight new energy transmission projects.
Read moreThe Caribbean region has historically suffered from a lack of electricity, but this situation is beginning to change, benefiting thousands of rural families.
Read moreThe Ministry of Energy (MinEnergia) talked about the behavior of electricity demand in the second week of August.
Read moreExperts from the mobility sector spoke about the actions needed to achieve the electrification of private transportation.
Read moreThe Ministry of Energy (MinEnergia) published a draft Resolution adopting the "Reference Generation and Transmission Expansion Plan 2020 – 2034."
Read moreThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia) and the National Energy Secretariat of Panama signed an agreement to regulate electrical interconnection.
Read moreOCAD Paz approved seven projects to bring electrical service to several regions of the country.
Read moreThe government is strengthening the expansion of the National Interconnected System (SIN) with the development of seven energy projects.
Read moreDerivex conducted its third energy auction organized within its energy futures platform.
Read moreThe Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) awarded the project for the new substation in the Colombian Pacific region.
Read moreSmart energy metering continues to advance in the country and Air-e announced its progress in the Caribbean.
Read moreXM’s María Arboleda spoke about the demand for energy, renewables and the impact of the pandemic on the sector.
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Electricity exports had a positive behavior in 2020, despite the health emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read moreClean and sustainable growth is one of the government's pillars to reactivate the economy.
Read moreBogotá granted Enel-Codensa an environmental license to move a substation to guarantee energy for the new subway.
Read moreEnel-Codensa announced the delivery of new SITP electric buses.
Read moreThe Colombian government’s blockbuster announcement that it would consider offers for its participation in the country’s long-haul transmission operator, ISA, is getting the headlines and the controversy but it appears that the government’s stake in EMSA, the main distributor on the department of Meta, is also for sale.
Read moreBusiness newspaper Portafolio says it obtained a confidential letter by a number of industry associations to the Minister of Energy saying the auction needs to be restructured, in particular it should be technologically neutral.
Read moreThe world is seeing a boom in solar energy projects, and Colombia is no stranger to this trend.
Read moreThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia) announced progress on Plan 5 Caribe.
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The National Association for Sustainable Mobility (Andemos) published its monthly report on the behavior of the hybrid and electric vehicle market in November 2020. Here are the details.
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The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia) announced resources to develop energy projects around Colombia.
Read moreMayors from different cities in Cundinamarca complained about alleged increases in energy tariffs. Codensa spoke on the matter.
Read moreThe Energy Coordination and Monitoring Advisory Commission (CACSSE) confirmed that it will permanently monitor Colombia’s water reservoirs levels, and capacity to meet the growing energy demand.
Read moreAccording to experts, electric vehicles will soon represent a cheaper option for operations that prioritize light loads.
Read moreTraditional electricity meters, which registered energy consumption levels in the country for almost a century, will soon be replaced for ‘smart meters’.
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XM, operator of the National Interconnected System (SIN) and administrator of the Wholesale Energy Market (MEM), published its prospects for the Colombian Energy System for the short, medium and long term.
Read more The National Transmission System (STN) might fail to deliver electricity to different areas of the country, unless many of its lines get replaced.
Read moreElectricaribe’s Ángela Rojas published a new addendum for the search process of a new energy operator in the Caribbean region.
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President Iván Duque announced the opening of the first charging station for electric vehicles on the Bogotá-Medellín highway.
Read moreAlthough energy coverage in Colombia is high, there is still a large number of households that lack this service. What can the government do to improve the situation?
Read moreThe registration of electric cars in the country increased this year, confirming a change in the automotive market.
Read moreThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) discussed the relevance of water as an energy source for Colombia. The entity highlighted the role of hydraulic energy for the Colombian electricity sector.
Read moreThe National Association of Public Service and Communications Companies (Andesco) held the Ninth Seminar on Energy Efficiency. The association talked about this issue and presented proposals to improve energy efficiency.
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XM reported the energy consumption in March this year and the behavior of this metric was positive compared to the previous year. The company said that demand is falling in the middle scenario of the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) forecasts.
Read moreThe government announced the National Development Plan (PND) and some articles have aroused great interest in the energy sector. Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, Governor of Atlantico, spoke on this topic.
Read moreThe Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), María Fernanda Suárez, explained the government’s plan to boost electricity coverage in the department.
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The Colombian government wants to diversify the energy matrix and renewable energies play a key role in this process. Authorities are analyzing where to develop new projects and two regions stand out thanks to their environmental characteristics.
Read moreThe Colombian government opened the door to negotiating with Naturgy, after it decided to liquidate the Caribbean’s energy distributor, Electricaribe.
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Astrid Álvarez, President of the Bogotá Energy Group (GEB), spoke about the company's plans in Colombia.
Read moreThe Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), María Fernanda Suárez, took the stage of the Construyendo País Forum (literally: ‘Building Country’), to talk about energy projects in the department.
Read moreThe Colombian government has announced several measures to solve the Electricaribe crisis quickly, generating much expectation among investors and local authorities. Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, Governor of the Atlantico, spoke on this topic.
Read moreThe Colombian government has announced several measures to solve the Electricaribe crisis, while authorities find a new operator for the firm. This process has created much expectation and Jorge Mario Velásquez, President of Grupo Argos, spoke about the company's interest in Electricaribe.
Read moreIntercolombia, subsidiary of ISA, announced advances in the Chinu-Monteria-Uraba project. The company highlighted the benefits of this important project for the country and the Colombian energy sector.
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The national government, through the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), is preparing a proposal on market participation limits for the energy sector. MinMinas will present this proposal in a debate on the National Development Plan (PND).
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The Colombian energy market has had a very hectic start to the year with big announcements. Celsia bought some Enertolima’s assets, generating changes to the sector. Experts talked about this transaction and the market share of the industry, after this agreement.
Read moreThe reliability charge auction will bring important investments to the Caribbean Coast, through projects that will start operating in 2022.
Read moreThe Colombian government has announced several measures to solve the Electricaribe crisis quickly. Natasha Avendaño García, Superintendent of Public Services, spoke about the "roadmap" for the sale of this company.
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The president of the Senate’s Fifth Commission (responsible for energy issues), Senator José David Name, questioned the regulations set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CREG) for the country’s renewable energy auction.
Read moreColombia’s first long term energy auction did not give the results expected by the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas). What comes next?
Read moreThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) held a reliability auction to guarantee the energy supply in the coming years. This was a separate and distinct process from the long-term renewables auction held at the same time, which resulted in no transactions.
Read moreTermocandelaria Power Limited (TPL) participated in the energy auction carried out by the Colombian government with excellent results. The company is positioned as one of the main power generators in the country.
Read more The long-awaited (and delayed) auction of renewable energy commitments took place on February 27, 2019. It failed to connect any buyers with any sellers but MinMinas issued an upbeat press release and given the historic nature of the event, we translate it and provide commentary.
Read moreElectricaribe continues working to recover its metrics and offer a better energy service in the Colombian coast. However, the Atlantico Administrative Court made a decision that could affect the firm’s plans.
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