Electricity transmission in Colombia: overview 2025

The report examines the state of Colombia's electricity transmission infrastructure in 2025, highlighting a critical gap between the rapid expansion of renewable energy generation and the slow deployment of the transmission grid. It details the regulatory structure of the National Interconnected System (SIN), the processes for capacity allocation, and the systemic delays in project execution caused by socio-environmental and licensing hurdles. The document warns that the system is approaching operational limits, with significant short-circuit capacity exhaustion and regional grid strain, particularly in the Caribbean area. It emphasizes the need to implement a strategic portfolio of 98 projects to ensure the energy transition and meet long-term demand projections.

• Colombia's electricity generation capacity is projected to grow from 20.9 GW to 38.9 GW by 2030, but transmission infrastructure is facing a structural backlog.
• The National Interconnected System (SIN) is nearing its operational limits, with less than 5% of transmission capacity available and 90% of substations expected to exhaust their short-circuit interrupting capacity within five years.
• Project implementation is a major bottleneck, with 55% of the 20 active transmission projects delayed; some projects, such as Bacatá-Norte and Sogamoso Norte-Nueva Esperanza, have been delayed for 12 and 10 years respectively.
• The Caribbean region exhibits the most severe grid strain, with 16 restrictions in an emergency state and 15 in an alert state, exacerbated by the network operator AFINIA's withdrawal from several STR projects.
• To resolve operational constraints between 2024 and 2037, Colombia needs to execute at least 44 of the 98 strategic works identified in the Master Plan for Modernization and Expansion of the Electrical Transmission Infrastructure.
• The Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) adopted the Territorial Engagement Model in 2025 to better integrate socio-environmental and cultural criteria into sector planning to mitigate conflicts.
• Long-term projections for carbon neutrality by 2050 suggest Colombia will need approximately 50,000 km of additional transmission lines, bringing the total to nearly 80,000 km.

APA

Tovar, G. S., & Vega-Araújo, J. (2026). Electricity transmission in Colombia: overview 2025. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/electricity-transmission-colombia-2025-overview.pdf

Chicago

Tovar, Germán Sáenz, and José Vega-Araújo. Electricity transmission in Colombia: overview 2025. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2026. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/electricity-transmission-colombia-2025-overview.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tovar |first1=Germán Sáenz |last2=Vega-Araújo |first2=José |title=Electricity transmission in Colombia: overview 2025 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/electricity-transmission-colombia-2025-overview.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tovar2026electricity, author = {Tovar, Germán Sáenz and Vega-Araújo, José}, title = {{Electricity transmission in Colombia: overview 2025}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/electricity-transmission-colombia-2025-overview.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }