This Is How We Lead
Regulation
At Celsia, regulation is strategic to guarantee the conditions of competition that allow us to incorporate new technologies and business models.
GRI (103-1) A large part of our businesses, projects and activities are carried out in a sector that – because it provides a public utility – has a regulatory framework that limits the actions of the participating agents. Therefore, the operation of our businesses and their growth are promoted or restricted in accordance with the construction of an adequate regulatory framework that is transformed according to market evolution.
At Celsia, regulation is key to making the investment strategy a reality, to guarantee the conditions of competition that allow us to carry out both the activities in which we participate and the development and introduction of new business models and the achievement of short-, medium- and long-term goals.
Our Management
GRI (103-2) Our participation and leadership before unions and the Government remains focused on promoting those adjustments necessary to modernize the energy market in the context of the transformation that this market is going through in Colombia, promoting the inclusion of new technologies and businesses in competitive, operationally viable conditions.
In Central America, management has focused on promoting distributed generation, the establishment of smart grids and – particularly – on improving contracting conditions for large clients. In this region, we actively participate in various private business associations, including the World Energy Council Panama (WEC), The Panamanian National Association of Electric Generators (ANPAG, in Spanish), the Union of Industrialists of Panama (SIP, in Spanish), the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE, in Spanish), the Costa Rican Association of Energy Producers (ACOPE, in Spanish), and the Alliance of Self-Production with Solar Energy (APROSOL) in Honduras, where we contribute our knowledge and experience to improve the electricity market in those countries.
Contributions
Type and value of political contributions
Type and value of political contributions
Our Highest Contributions
All the contributions in this chapter correspond to the support fees paid by Celsia as a member of these associations and unions.
DJSI (1.6.2) GRI (415-1)
Subject Matter of the Public Policy Contribution
Capacity allocation Procedure to facilitate the entry of non-conventional renewable energy sources (FERNC) projects.
Celsia’s Position on this Topic: Support
Description of the Position and Contribution
Together with the Colombian Association of Electric-Power Generators (ACOLGEN, in Spanish) and the National Association of Public Utilities and Communications Companies of Colombia (ANDESCO, in Spanish), different meetings were held with the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG, in Spanish) the Mining-Energy Planning Unit and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, where the problem associated with the capture of connection capacity in the National Interconnected System (SIN, in Spanish) by promoters who only had the intention of selling it, and not actually developing projects, was raised. Finally, progress was made with the issuance of CREG Resolution 075 of 2021, which will allow the release of connection capacity that was hoarded, mainly by projects with a low probability of financial closure.
COP
0
Value of the Contribution
Subject Matter of the Public Policy Contribution
Tax benefits for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) – Energy Transition Law
Celsia’s Position on this Topic: Support
Description of the Position and Contribution
Since the end of 2020, we have provided a study carried out by EY for Celsia, which was presented to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) and unions (ANDESCO and the Colombian Association of Electric Energy Distributors, ASOCODIS), where it has been shown that the main benefits of implementing AMI are directly reflected in clients. It was concluded that, in order to achieve financial closure in the deployment of AMI, the contribution of resources by the State and the clients is necessary. Therefore, a proposal was presented that was accepted by the unions, based on a scheme similar to that of Works for Taxes, where companies receive tax benefits for the implementation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure.
These high-precision meters allow damage to the network to be detected in less time, which is why they can be attended to more agilely, help to have a more-precise measurement of energy consumption and allow its remote reading.
COP
0
Value of the Contribution
Other Significant Contributions
All the contributions in this chapter correspond to the support fees paid by Celsia as a member of these associations and unions.
DJSI (1.6.2) GRI (415-1)
Organization name's
The Colombian Association of Electric-Power Generators (ACOLGEN, in Spanish)
Type of Organization: Union
Description of the Position and Contribution
Is a private, non-profit union organization, unrelated to political issues and created with the aim of promoting free, healthy competition and the sustainable, efficient development of the Colombian electricity market, particularly from the electricity-generation activity.
COP
0
Value of the Contribution
Organization name's
The Colombian Association of Electric Power Distributors (ASOCODIS, in Spanish)
Type of Organization: Union
Description of the Position and Contribution
Is a non-profit entity that brings together the main electricity-distribution and commercializing companies that serve regulated and unregulated users throughout Colombia, which seeks to bring the electricity service in the country to be a global benchmark in competitiveness, coverage, quality, reliability and innovation.
COP
0
Value of the Contribution
Organization name's
The National Association of Public Utilities and Communications Companies (ANDESCO, in Spanish)
Type of Organization: Union
Description of the Position and Contribution
Is a non-profit trade association that represents the interests of affiliated companies of residential public utilities and communications.
COP
0
Value of the Contribution
Main results
GRI (103-3)
We led the unions in the need for adjustments in some technical requirements demanded for generation, based on the Non-Conventional Renewable Energy Sources (FERNC, in Spanish) (wind and solar), which made a large part of the projects unfeasible, due to the implication of CapEx that would not be required. Thanks to this, the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG, in Spanish) issued CREG Resolution 187 of 2021, which modulates the previous requirements, allowing financial efficiencies for projects.
Regarding the deployment of smart meters, we promoted in the unions and directly with Colombian Government entities the identification of benefits and costs associated with their implementation, to define the requirements for their execution in the country with financial closure. These benefits included a more-precise measurement of energy consumption, reconnection of the service in less time and remotely, detection in less time of damages that occurred in the network, among others.
We presented to the Ministry of Mines and Energy and to the CREG, of Colombia, proposals aimed at the implementation of regulatory sandboxes, the development of microgrids and demand response, with their respective benefits, demonstrating with international experience that they are an ideal tool to promote an environment of innovation in the market. In line with this, the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued a first proposal of guidelines for the implementation of Regulatory Sandboxes in the electricity sector.
We presented to the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Colombian regulator the problem association with the allocation of capacity in the National Interconnected System (SIN, in Spanish), with the aim of optimizing its use, allowing the release of space for projects that were not feasible, and promoting self-generation. As a result of this, CREG Resolution 075 of 2021 was issued, which specified the procedure to assign this capacity.
With the Colombian Energy Transition Law, it was possible to include the elimination of the additional 20% contribution on the energy rate for vehicle-charging stations, thus materializing one of our incentive proposals to promote electric mobility.
In Panama, we presented our vision to the Secretary of Energy (SEN, in Spanish) on issues, such as distributed generation, smart grids and the concept of power acquisition for today’s large clients.
Being a developing electricity market, in Honduras we had the opportunity to be an active part in the observations and comments on the regulations and methodologies related to the electricity market.
In Costa Rica, we joined the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Association of Energy Producers (ACOPE, in Spanish) union, in the Vice Presidency of Wind Power, participating in formal consultation of regulations and laws of the energy-sector reform plan.
New Challenges
GRI (103-2)
These are our short-, medium- and long-term challenges:
(0 to 2 years)
- Participate in the construction of adjustments in the Colombian reliability market, so that the complementarity offered by non-conventional energy sources is reflected, seeking a competitive long-term contracting market for new and existing plants, which allows competition for all technologies.
- Contribute to the regulation of the roadmap of the Energy Transformation Mission of the sector, to continue promoting its modernization and the incorporation and development of new technologies, as well as innovative business models that benefit various types of clients and communities.
- Promote a competitive framework for the incorporation of distributed energy resources and, in general, the development of models related to the modernization of energy distribution, such as storage, microgrids and transactional platforms.
- Promote the most-appropriate implementation of smart metering and the regulation of the conditions applicable to the development of the new conditions and services that are enabled with this milestone, as a response to demand and a progressive liberalization of retail commercialization.
(3 ato 5 years)
- Promote the correct implementation of the adjustments of the Energy Transformation Mission, with a view to implementing the intra-day markets, the adjustments to the reliability charge and the modernization of distribution.
- Materialize a robust market of contracts articulated with the existing contracting markets and the reliability scheme, which deepens the degree of competition in our market in Colombia, the sustainable growth of the energy supply and the efficient management of resources, including the demand share.
- Lead directly and through unions the proposals that enable a flexible framework for the development of new businesses derived from the implementation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and the modernization of distribution systems, both at the distributed level and on a large scale in Colombia and Central America.
- In Central America, we will seek to give electric mobility a boost by supporting the design of applicable regulations that encourage its use and community renewable-energy schemes that allow virtual netting among clients who install them.
(6 or more years)
- Bolster the development of microgrids in Central America.
- Contribute to and work together in the advanced states of the transformation of the Colombian electricity market, promoting the digitization of the energy service and the modernization of distribution, as a transactional platform for meeting among consumers, prosumers, demand aggregators and energy marketers.
- Promote client empowerment through knowledge of their data, so that they can modify their consumption profile with all the information available, in the freedom of the market and maximizing their well-being.
- Work at the union level to develop a robust, technical and independent institutional framework aimed at developing the market under balanced competition conditions.
Glossary
ACOPE: The Costa Rican Association of Energy Producers
ANPAG: The Panamanian National Association of Electric Generators
APEDE: The Panamanian Association of Business Executives
APROSOL: The Alliance of Self-Production with Solar Energy
SEN: The National Secretary of Energy of Panama
SIP: The Union of Industrialists of Panama
WEC: The World Energy Council Panama
Microgrids: A group of distributed loads and energy resources with a clearly defined electrical frontier, which has the ability to be self-sufficient and operate in isolation or in parallel with the electrical system to supply local demand.
Prosumer: Users who actively participate in the service-provision chain with different interactions, usually with self-consumption, as well as having the possibility to benefit from their surplus energy.
Regulatory Framework: All the resolutions issued by the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG, in Spanish). It is part of the general framework, such as the Political Constitution, and is made up, among others, of codes, laws, decrees and resolutions.
Self-Generation: Electric power generation carried out in the end-client’s installation or at an adjoining site, the production of which is based on directly meeting the client’s demand, without it being necessary to use the distribution network for this. As a requirement to inject it into the network, it must have been generated through non-conventional renewable energies. Self-generated energy will supply part of the total electricity consumption.
Wholesale Market: A set of information-exchange systems between generators and marketers of large blocks of electrical energy in the Commercial Exchange System, to carry out long-term energy contracts and in the Energy Exchange on defined quantities and prices, subject to the Operating Regulations and other applicable rules.
