IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2016 - 44

✔ significantly increased system reliability and power

quality associated with technological changes
✔ increased demand, with an average annual growth
rate of 3.6% over the last ten years.
colombia has an approximate installed capacity of
16,000 mw, of which around 71% comes from renewable resources (mainly energy generated by hydroelectric
plants). in 2015, demand for electricity was approximately
65,300 Gwh, with a peak demand of 10,000 mw. to meet
such demand, the participation of ncres is close to 3%,
plus 4% from hydroelectric power generation, the capacity of
which is lower than 20 mw; the total participation, approximately 7%, is very low in relation to the country's potential.
for instance, winds in colombia are considered a renewable
energy source with high potential; however, less than 0.4% of
their theoretical potential is exploited.
the current generation matrix marks the country as having a high rate of vulnerability within the electricity sector
due to several factors. for instance, hydroelectric generation
in the country decreased by 25% in 2015 due to the el niño
phenomenon; this decline is being overcome by thermal
generation, but it is expensive for its variable costs in some
cases. Before el niño, the cost of 1 mwh was approximately
Us$90; during the phenomenon, it spiked to almost Us$140
due to the decrease in hydroelectric generation.
moreover, the colombian electricity sector has not been
fully incorporated into certain parts of the country. in
colombia, about 50% of the national territory corresponds
to noninterconnected zones (Znis) outside the national
interconnected system. Despite limited economic resources,
Znis in the country have great potential for generating electricity with ncres.
the high degree of uncertainty in hydroelectric generation
and its vulnerability to the effects of el niño represent a major
weakness in the current structure of the colombian generation
matrix and, therefore, in system reliability regarding electricity supply. nevertheless, this scenario is a very good business
opportunity for different actors wanting to invest in distributed generation, smart grids, microgrids, and nonconventional
renewable generation technologies (figure 5).
to make colombia's electricity distribution system more
resilient to those issues, the actors involved (the utilities, state,
and users) agree that investment should be made, given the
low costs of these new technologies. the findings reported
here are based on interviews with several advisors, academicians, and experts in the field, as well as representatives
of the colombian association of electricity Distributors,
which brings together the 23 main electricity distribution
companies in the country and provides services to 98% of
users, with a presence in 96% of columbia's municipalities.

The State's Strategic Vision, Planning,
and Regulatory Agencies
the state, aware of the potential of ncres, smart grids,
and microgrids, has established a national energy plan for
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the period 2015-2029 to address the challenges mentioned
earlier. this plan proposes several strategies and objectives
with the aim of using nonconventional generation resources,
with particular emphasis on rural communities and isolated
areas of the interconnected system. this interest encourages
the implementation of microgrids in to meet the particular
needs of different Znis.
the state emphasizes that laws related to renewable
energy provide the basis for pioneer projects and, therefore,
encourage research on smart grids and microgrids, for a total
capacity of 461 mw. according to state plans, it is expected
that, for instance, 8% of demand will be met through nonconventional renewable generation by 2020 and 15% by 2030.

The Need for Active Participation
of the Demand Side
according to the colombian association of electricity
Utilities, which gathers together large energy consumers,
the country needs to incorporate 2,000 mw of firm power
into low-cost generation. this assessment results from price
increases due to the el niño phenomenon. a solution to
the deficit in low-cost installed capacity is investment in
nonconventional renewable generation and microgrids; the
demand side can participate by investing and operating as
self-generators. to promote self-generation, certain regulations in colombia establish both energy policy guidelines
regarding delivery of surplus self-generation and maximum
limits for small-scale self-generation power.
moreover, other colombian regulations aim to encourage demand response based on a scheme for voluntary
demand disconnection. however, the demand side neither
knows about these regulations nor applies them. the use of
this tool could entail that the demand side reduce its consumption in response to price signals of the wholesale electricity market. incentives to demand will be stipulated in
bilateral contracts with marketers, with savings on energy
bills seen due mainly to reduction of consumption during
peak hours.

Argentina: Back on Track
and Developing NCRES
Features of the Argentinian Power Market
the power sector in argentina is based on a competitive
market, liberalized for the power generation agents and
monopolized in the transmission and distribution networks.
the argentinian interconnected system is developed on an
extensive infrastructure of transmission networks of 500
and 220 kv, and it is interconnected with four border countries: Uruguay, Brazil, paraguay, and chile.
currently, the installed power generation capacity is
32.5 Gw, where about 60% is thermal based on fossil-fuel,
34% is hydropower, 5.4% is nuclear, 0.58% is wind energy,
and just 0.02% is solar photovotaic. electric energy consumption is about 144,000 Gwh/year, with an annual per capita
september/october 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2016