Colombian energy sector ready for El Niño response

Colombia is prepared to cope with lower hydroelectric power generation amid forecasts of an impending El Niño drought, according to the head of grid operator and wholesale market administrator XM.

The comments follow government warnings that Colombia faces an 80% chance of suffering from an El Niño-induced dry spell in the first quarter of 2019.

"The level of [hydroelectric] reservoirs is currently above 80%. What we have seen, according to the simulations we do and the information we have... is that this El Niño will not threaten the supply of energy," XM general manager María Arboleda told newspaper Portafolio.

El Niño refers to the cycle of warm and dry temperatures resulting from high air pressure in the western Pacific and low pressure in the eastern Pacific.

The last time the phenomenon struck Colombia was in 2016, when it parched hydroelectric reservoirs and coincided with a natural gas supply shortage, leaving the country on the brink of electricity rationing.

The Cartagena LNG import terminal – which began operating in December 2016 – has since eased gas supply concerns for backup thermoelectric plants, according to Arboleda.

She added that the government is taking the right steps to ensure delays to the Hidroituango mega-dam project will not lead to a long-term energy deficit.

Among them are plans for two energy supply tenders early next year. An auction for 10-year contracts that prioritizes non-conventional renewable plants is slated for February 22 and will be followed six days later by another call for firm energy obligations from conventional sources over a 12-month period starting in December 2022.