Key messages

• The transmission infrastructure faces a structural backlog in the context of expanding electricity generation, predominantly from renewable sources. With a total installed capacity of 20.9 gigawatts (GW) and an additional 18 GW already approved, total installed generation capacity is projected to reach 38.9 GW by 2030.

• The National Interconnected System (SIN) is approaching its operational limits: less than 5% of transmission capacity is available, and within the next five years, 90% of substations will exhaust their short-circuit interrupting capacity, which will compromise the integration of new generation projects.

• The sector’s main challenge is implementation: 55% of the 20 transmission projects currently underway are delayed, with some by around a decade, such as Bacatá-Norte (12 years), and Sogamoso Norte-Nueva Esperanza (10 years).

• These delays are due to socio-environmental factors, difficulties in licensing and permits, and a weak alignment between national energy planning and land-use planning instruments.

• The Master Plan for Modernization and Expansion of the Electrical Transmission Infrastructure sets out an indicative portfolio of 98 strategic works. By developing just 44 of them, it would be possible to overcome 149 operational constraints projected between 2024 and 2037.

• In 2025, the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) formally adopted the Territorial Engagement Model, marking an institutional shift towards the integration of socio-environmental and cultural criteria into the planning of the electricity sector.