Colombia urged not to forsake hydro, gas-fired power

The Colombian government's desire to improve access to electricity services in remote and underprivileged areas will not avert the threat of a future energy shortage, a leading industry group has warned. 

Sandra Fonseca, the director of electricity consumer association Asoenergia, urged the administration of President Gustavo Petro to broaden its Fair Energy Transition Roadmap with steps that guarantee supply. 

"Equity in the access and democratization of the electric power service in the country ... is desirable and laudable, but insufficient," Fonseca said in a statement. 

"The country's electricity sector needs immediate and essential decisions to advance in investments that require time to materialize," she added. 

Petro's transition roadmap includes a plan to create energy districts that will promote the use of solar, wind and biomass to generate electricity. The process will be overseen by a new public organ, dubbed the National Energy Transition Institute, according to the government. 

“All these points ... are important, but not enough to advance sufficiently in terms of security, coverage, access to service and quality for the users,” Fonseca said. 

“Decisions must be made to promote generation projects from unconventional energy sources, but a decision about efficient hydropower and gas-fired generation projects – as well as the construction of associated transmission lines – is essential at the same time,” she added.