Transition of energy policy and regulation on distributed generation (DG) in Colombia

Abstract

In any economic sector, the energy policy and regulations are a fundamental factor in the progress of initiatives that are born to improve the conditions of the participants of the sector and itself. In the Colombian case, the promotion of clean energy sources has been timidly advancing, however since 2014; the national government and its affiliated entities have joined forces in order to allow and encourage the insertion of the distributed generation (DG) and small-scale self-generation to the electrical system. In this process, the country has faced an energy and regulatory transition that modifies the traditional electric grid activities. Therefore, this article outlines the transition of energy policy and regulation that the country has had and a brief comparison is made with countries in the region such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil; analyzing the similarities and differences in these aspects applied to the promotion of DG and self-generation.