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Energy Profile Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. With a population of over 46 million people, Colombia has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico and Spain. The territory of what is now "Colombia" was originally inhabited by indigenous people including the Muisca, Quimbaya, and Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada (comprising modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, the northwest region of Brazil and Panama) with its capital in Bogotá. Independence from Spain was ... read more won in 1819, but by 1830 "Gran Colombia" had collapsed with the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada. The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858), and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903 under pressure to fulfill financial responsibilities towards the United States government to build the Panama Canal. Colombia has a long tradition of constitutional government. The Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899–1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been engaged in the continent's longest-running armed conflict. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1980s. Nevertheless, in the recent decade (2000s) the violence has decreased significantly. Many paramilitary groups have demobilized as part of a controversial peace process with the government, and the guerrillas have lost control in many areas where they once dominated. Meanwhile Colombia's homicide rate, for many years one of the highest in the world, almost halved between 2002 and 2006. 2009 and 2010 saw an increase in the urban homicide rate, particularly in the city of Medellín, attributed to gang warfare and paramilitary successor groups. According to the Maplecroft research institute, in 2010 Colombia had the world's sixth highest risk of terrorism. Colombia is a standing middle power with the fourth largest economy in Latin America. Inequality and unequal distribution of wealth are widespread. In 1990, the ratio of income between the poorest and richest 10 per cent was 40-to-one. Following a decade of economic restructuring and a recession, this ratio had climbed to 80-to-one in the year 2000. By 2009, Colombia had reached a Gini coefficient of 0.587, which was the highest in Latin America. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "there has been a decrease in the poverty rate in recent years, [but but] around half of the population continues to live under the poverty line" as of 2008–2009. Official figures for 2009 indicate that about 46% of Colombians lived below the poverty line and some 17% in "extreme poverty". Colombia is very ethnically diverse, and the interaction between descendants of the original native inhabitants, Spanish colonists, Africans brought as slaves and twentieth-century immigrants from Europe and the Middle East has produced a rich cultural heritage. This has also been influenced by Colombia's varied geography. The majority of the urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains, but Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. Ecologically, Colombia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries (the most biodiverse per unit area).

Source: dbpedia

Policy and Regulation

Source: REEEP Policy Database (contributed by SERN for REEEP)

Table of contents

Energy sources

Total installed electricity capacity (2006): 13.4 GW

  • Hydro-electricity: 64-77%
  • Fossil fuels (coal and natural gas): 22-33%.

The share of thermal participation in generation has increased since the mid-1990s. This has happened in response to the 1992/1993 crisis caused by El Nino associated droughts and the high reliance of power generation on hydroelectric installations that lacked multi-year storage capacity. As a result of the new policies adopted by the country, the dominance of hydropower in the generation portfolio has been reduced from 80% in the early 1990s to less than 65% today.
 

Reliance

Colombia is the major coal exporter of Latin America With 7.328 billion short tons of proven reserves it has one of the largest coal reserves in Latin America.

Colombia had proven natural gas reserves of 3.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2009. The country produced and consumed 255 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2006.

Colombia is a net oil exporter since 1986. Colombia had 1.36 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves in 2009, the fifth-largest in South America.

Colombia imported only very small volumes of electricity from Venezuela and Ecuador (0.02 TWh each).
 

Extend network

  • National electrification rate (2005): 87%
  • In urban areas: 93%
  • In rural areas: 55%.

 

Capacity concerns

Despite significant improvements in the security situation in the country, Colombia's electricity sector continues to face serious supply and financial challenges due to lack of investment, security risks and power theft. Repeated attacks on electricity infrastructure increase the risk of blackouts and raise cost of operation for the electricity sector. Service quality in Colombia, as measured by service interruptions, is much lower than the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2005, the average number of interruptions per subscriber was 185.7, far above the regional average of 13 interruptions. The duration of interruptions per subscriber was 66 hours, also far above the regional average of 14 hours.

Renewable energy

In 2007, Colombia had 28.1 MW installed capacity of renewable energy (excluding large hydro), consisting mainly of wind power.

Hydropower

The total large hydropower potential for Colombia is estimated at 93 GW, with an additional 25 GW of small hydropower (<20 MW).

Solar energy

Colombia has significant solar power resources because of its location in the equatorial zone, but the country sits in a complex region of the Andes where climatic conditions vary. The daily average radiation is 4.5 kWh/m2, and the area with the best solar resource is the Guajira Peninsula, with 6 kWh/m2 of radiation.

Wind energy

The wind regime is among the best in South America. Offshore regions of the northern part of Colombia, such as in the Guajara Department, have been classified with class 7 winds (over 10 m/s). The only other region in Latin America with such high wind power classification is the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina. Colombia has an estimated theoretical wind power potential of 21 GW just in the
Guajara Department.
 

Energy efficiency

NA

Ownership

Electricity

The electricity sector has been unbundled into generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization since sector reforms carried out in 1994. As part of liberalisation, the government has continued to reduce its stake in generating companies. About half the generation capacity is now privately owned.

Private participation in electricity distribution is much lower.

In the generation sector, there are about three dozen active companies. EMGESA is the largest, controlling about one-fifth of generating capacity.

While numerous companies own different parts of the grid, the largest holder is Interconexion Electrica S.A. (ISA), controlling about 70% of the system. Formerly wholly-owned by the Colombian government, the public stake in ISA shares has declined to 59%. ISA controls 83% of the electricity transmission market and has one of the largest transmission networks in Latin America.

Liquid fuels market

The hydrocarbon sector is owned and managed by the state controlled company Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (ECOPETROL). As a part of the reform plan, the government is trying to increase private participation, notably of international companies.

Gas market

The gas market is controlled by 3 main companies: ECOPETROL (exploration and development of natural gas reserves), CREG (overseas regulation and distribution markets) and ECOGAS (manages the natural gas transmission system).

Coal market

The coal market was privatised in 2004. The largest coal producer in the country is the Carbones del Cerrejon consortium, composed of Anglo-American, BHP Billiton, and Glencore.
 

Competition

The Public Utilities Law (Law 142) and Energy Law (Law 143) divide the electricity market into four main activities: generation, transmission, distribution and retail.

The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission maintains a strict division between generation, transmission and distribution activities, though it allows some legacy companies to maintain vertically-integrated operations.

Colombia is one of the few countries in Latin America to have successfully implemented a wholesale electricity market, operating since 1995. Power is traded over a day ahead hourly market or though bilateral contracts. In the day-ahead market, players summit hourly bids. An Independent System Operator ranks bids and defines the spot price required to satisfy the forecasted demand.

There is also competition at the retail level.
 

Energy framework

In 2001, Law 697, which promotes the efficient and rational use of energy and alternative energies, was promulgated. This Law was regulated by Decree 3683, issued in 2003. The Law and the Decree contemplate important aspects such as the stimulus to education and research in renewable energy sources (RES). Nevertheless, the program created under this law lacks fundamental aspects to impulse the development of RES significantly, such as a regulatory support system to encourage investment, the definition of policies to promote renewable energy, or quantitative targets for the share of renewable energy.

Energy debates

NA

Energy studies

Sustainable Development Network.

http://www.rds.org.co

Firms Council for Sustainable Development.

http://www.cecodes.org.co

Role of government

The Ministry of Energy and Mines is responsible for energy planning and regulation.

Regulation is carried out though the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission. Energy Planning is carried out though the Mines and Energy Planning Unit.

Government agencies

The National Planning Department is a technical entity that advises the President on sustainable development including energy issues.

Energy procedure

National Energy Plan 2003 – 2020. http://www.upme.gov.co/Docs/pen.htm

The energy policy of the country is defined by the National Energy Plan 2003-2020, in which a diagnosis of the energy supply and demand is presented, and some objectives and strategies on the short, medium and long term are defined for different future scenarios.

 

Energy regulator

The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission was created in 1994.
www.creg.gov.co

The Superintendence of Public Services was created in 1991.
http://www.superservicios.gov.co

Degree of independence

The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission is an administrative unit within the Ministerio de Minas y Energia (Ministry of Mines and Energy).

Regulatory framework

As said previously, despite the country’s large potential in new renewable energy technologies, this potential has been barely tapped. A 2001 law designed to promote alternative energies lacks certain key provisions to achieve this objective and has had little impact so far.

Regulatory roles

The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission functions are:

  • Access and tariff regulation for transmission and distribution networks.
  • Preserve and promote competition. Determine conditions for gradual liberalisation of the electricity industry.

Energy regulation role

Regulatory tasks are carried out by the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission.

Regulatory barriers

No real regulatory framework and support mechanisms for sustainable energy.

Close Policy and Regulation
 

Key Statistic Charts (17)

Energy production and use

Energy production Energy use
Source: Worldbank Data Source: Worldbank Data

Electricity

Electricity production Electric power consumption
Source: Worldbank Data Source: Worldbank Data
Electricity - total net installed capacity of electric power plants, public & self-producer Electricity - net production
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Electricity - total net installed capacity of electric power plants, thermal Electricity - total thermal production
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Electricity - total net installed capacity of electric power plants, wind Electricity - total wind production
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Electricity - total net installed capacity of electric power plants, hydro Electricity - total hydro production
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Electricity - exports Electricity - imports
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Electric power transmission and distribution losses
Source: Worldbank Data

Emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) (CDIAC) Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) per capita (CDIAC)
Source: UN Data Source: UN Data
Close Key Statistic Charts
 

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  • CapitalBogotá
  • ISO CodeCO, COL
  • Area1.141.748 km²
  • Population45.925.397 (August 2010)
  • GDP, PPP438.042.736.306,- current international $ (2010)

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