Colombia: Electricity prices for the industrial sector

Colombia: comparative analysis of electricity prices for the industrial sector

The National Association of Industry (ANDI) presented last night in Bogotá the document “International comparative analysis of electricity prices in the industrial sector.” The presentation took place in the Hotel Tequendama during the II National Meeting on the rational use of energy and non-conventional sources of energy.

The study was prepared by the ANDI Chamber of Large Energy and Gas Consumers, and the Mining Energy Planning Unit (UPME) attached to the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy, with support from the CAF and Fedesarrollo and the cooperation of the Inter-American Association of Large Electricity Consumers (Interame).

The objective was to analyze objectively the level of competitiveness of the energy input for the industries that consumes large amounts of electricity in Colombia. The study presented this week is an update to December 2003 of an analysis prepared for ANDI and UPME on electricity prices to 2000. The countries that were included in the original study were Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and Venezuela.

At that time, in view of the regional integration processes and negotiation of free-trade treaties, it was considered necessary to review the competitive conditions of Colombian industry in relation to other South American countries and Mexico. The document, therefore, gathers information on the generation, transmission, distribution and regulatory framework for electricity in 11 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The CAF provided its support for this initiative through a technical cooperation agreement signed with ANDI and Fedesarrollo.