Transmisión eléctrica en Colombia: Panorama 2025

The report examines Colombia's electrical transmission sector in 2025, highlighting a structural lag in infrastructure that threatens the integration of renewable energy. It details the operational limits of the National Interconnected System (SIN), significant project execution delays, and the technical exhaustion of transport and short-circuit interruption capacities. The document also outlines the regulatory framework and the proposed 'Master Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Electrical Transmission Infrastructure' as a means to resolve these bottlenecks.

• Colombia's electrical transmission infrastructure is experiencing a structural lag relative to the expansion of generation capacity. While the total installed capacity is 20.9 GW, an additional 18 GW have been approved, which would bring the total to 38.9 GW by 2030.
• The National Interconnected System (SIN) is reaching critical operational limits, with less than 5% of transport capacity available in several regions. Furthermore, 90% of substations are expected to exhaust their short-circuit interruption capacity within the next five years, which jeopardizes the integration of new generation projects.
• Project execution is a primary sector challenge, with 55% of the 20 transmission projects currently under execution facing delays. Some projects have been delayed for a decade or more, specifically Bacatá-Norte (12 years) and Sogamoso Norte-Nueva Esperanza (10 years).
• The 'Master Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Electrical Transmission Infrastructure' identifies 98 strategic works. Implementing 44 of these projects could resolve 149 operational restrictions projected for the 2024-2037 period.
• The process for assigning transport capacity is congested due to a surge in requests, largely driven by renewable energy. The 2022 cycle received 843 requests for 56 GW, while the 2023-2024 cycle saw 1,732 requests totaling 89 GW.
• The Caribbean region, specifically the Guajira-Cesar-Magdalena and Córdoba–Sucre-Bolívar sub-areas, shows the most severe signs of network exhaustion, including 16 restrictions in emergency status and 15 in alert status.
• To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet future demand projections for 2052, Colombia may require approximately 50,000 additional kilometers of transmission lines, bringing the total to nearly 80,000 km.

APA

Tovar, G. S., & Vega-Araújo, J. (2026). Transmisión eléctrica en Colombia: Panorama 2025. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmision-electrica-colombia-sei2026-009.pdf

Chicago

Tovar, Germán Saenz, and José Vega-Araújo. Transmisión eléctrica en Colombia: Panorama 2025. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2026. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmision-electrica-colombia-sei2026-009.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tovar |first1=Germán Saenz |last2=Vega-Araújo |first2=José |title=Transmisión eléctrica en Colombia: Panorama 2025 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=March 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmision-electrica-colombia-sei2026-009.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tovar2026transmisin, author = {Tovar, Germán Saenz and Vega-Araújo, José}, title = {{Transmisión eléctrica en Colombia: Panorama 2025}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmision-electrica-colombia-sei2026-009.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }