ePower Colombia

Air-e pays energy market creditors Air-e announced the payment of CoP$78B to cover October’s energy costs. The disbursement was made to 98 electricity market agents using the company’s own resources, Blu Radio reported. The move is seen as a critical step in achieving the financial restructuring sought since the company was placed under government oversight. With this payment, Air-e reported it has met its obligations with 90% of its creditors. Out of 109 creditors, only 11 remain unpaid. For these cases, Air-e plans to coordinate with national government entities to finalize financial agreements... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Renewing Colombia’s energy Colombia’s energy sector stands at a critical juncture as its reliance on hydropower and fossil fuels exposes the country to significant vulnerabilities. With hydroelectric reservoirs operating at just 50% capacity amid prolonged droughts and a looming 12% gas deficit projected from December 2024—rising to 30% by 2026—the need for diversification has become urgent, Valora Analitik reported. Renewable energy presents a viable path forward, leveraging Colombia’s unique geographical and ecological advantages... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Latin America’s renewable energy Latin America is uniquely positioned to lead the global energy transition thanks to abundant natural resources and improving renewable energy technologies. While countries like Brazil and Uruguay are at the forefront, others, including Colombia, face significant challenges despite the opportunities to accelerate their shift toward renewables, Bloomberg en Linea reported. Colombia has made strides in incorporating renewable energy into its grid, particularly with its vast hydropower resources. Hydroelectric plants supply about 70% of the country’s electricity. However, this reliance exposes the nation to risks from climate variability, such as droughts driven by El Niño events... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Colombia’s energy conundrum Colombia’s energy sector faces dual crises: a growing gap between gas demand and production, and delays in energy projects that heighten the risk of blackouts reminiscent of the 1992 outage. As alarms sound for 2024, the urgency to address these issues intensifies. The country’s natural gas reserves have dwindled dramatically over the last 12 years, B. Proven reserves, measured as the ratio of reserves to production, dropped from 13.9 years in 2011 to just 6.1 years in 2023, Bloomberg en Linea reported. Meanwhile, gas demand is projected to grow by 2.4% annually, outpacing a declining production rate, which is expected to fall by 10% per year until 2029... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Where is it coming from? We reported earlier this week that reservoir levels were improving behind hydro dams. Last time, that triggered MinEnergia to suggest / order XM to shift the matrix away from more expensive and dirtier thermal power. Is that happening? We also check in on solar, the third leg of the stool, to see what it is doing. The lead graph shows just the last four weeks of reservoir data confirming we are finally over 50% and confirming (if you squint) that Bogotá’s recent period of bad weather was the main driver. Important compensation for suffering rainy afternoons. Last time when we got to this point, it was just in time for the rains to stop. Unfortunately, XM had switched the matrix back to hydro (its usual state) in May s... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

COP16 What can we learn for Colombian energy? COP16 in Cali was a great success for the city and for MinAmbiente Susana Muhamad. However, given that it ended without a consensus declaration, it failed to achieve its ultimate purpose. But lots of groups had lots to say and some of these were relevant for green power and for Colombia. (Unless otherwise linked, all quotes etc come from the official COP16 website.) The event COP16 (October 21st to November 1st, 2024) was the sixteenth biannual meeting of the countries which are signatories to The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) “The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed by leaders of 150 countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Colombia’s Halloween Horror Stories Halloween is not as pervasive in Colombia as Christmas nor as pervasive as it is in other countries. Nor is November 1st the “Day of the Dead” as it is in Mexico. This Monday is a “puente”, Friday’s “All Souls Day” slid to the other side of the weekend because Colombians prefer that. Likely no one will knock on our door tonight (few or no kids in our building) and orange and black is nowhere to be seen except in a few shopping centers. But scary stories abound in the energy sector! The Vampire Vampire’s are a species (I guess) but their most famous fictional representative is Count Dracula (although those of a certain age and geographic upbringing might hold out for Dr. Frank N. Furter). My candidate for the vampire of the energy sector is MinHacienda (Finance) Ricardo Bonilla for perhaps obvious reasons. His proposed new tax reform will suck more blood out of energy companies especially thermogenerators using fossil fuel... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Could coal actually be better than gas for the environment? 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? CO2 versus CH4 The news appeared in most global media but we saw it in the Financial Times (FT.com). Cornell professor and methane expert, Robert Howarth, says “Even though carbon-dioxide emissions are greater from burning coal than from burning natural gas, methane emissions can more than offset this difference.” ... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

Rising demand and a shifting matrix Time for our quarterly update of XM key indicators. Demand continues to rise – at least regulated i.e. household and small business demand – and the issues with hydro cause the matrix to shift in response. Generation The lead graph shows generation split renewable / non-renewable and since unsatisfied demand is small, the line at the top is a proxy for demand. We will show the real demand figures shortly, but visually, demand looks up somewhat this year versus last although by small amounts. Daily demand averaged 226 GWhd in 3Q24 versus 223 GWhd in 2Q24 and 225 GWhd in the prior year 3Q23. The graph also shows the Percent Renewable Energy (purple line) moving around as XM, the CREG and... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy

EPM’s investment plans John Maya Salazar, the manager of EPM, revealed that the company’s investment plans for the coming years. The company plans to invest CoP$28.9T between 2024 and 2027, El Espectador reported. Of this total, approximately CoP$17.9T will be allocated primarily in Antioquia, ensuring the maintenance of over 25,000 jobs in the region. “EPM drives economic development by generating capacities, income, and prosperity, always committed to the environment in which it operates. Our actions reflect increased social investment, job creation, and improved quality of life for more people. This is achieved through the creation of direct and indirect jobs with our suppliers and contractors and through the procurement of goods and services that foster growth among local, ... #renewableenergy #renewablenergy #renewablepower #energyindustry #epowercolombia #energy