Colombia to resume electricity exports to Ecuador

Colombia is set to reactivate electricity exports to crisis-stricken Ecuador following interruptions caused by a prolonged El Niño drought. 

The Colombian government halted electricity exports to its southern neighbor in August to guarantee domestic supply after hydroelectric reservoir levels hit record lows.

A draft resolution published by Colombia's mines and energy ministry stipulates the conditions under which exports can resume from centrally dispatched thermal plants, thermal plants using liquid fuels and certain grid-connected plants that use other energy sources. 

It says the ministry may modify or suspend the resolution based on "ongoing monitoring" designed to guarantee Colombia's domestic supply. 

Ecuadorans have endured daily electricity outages of up to 14 hours amid a prolonged drought that has severely limited power generation from hydroelectric plants.

Data published by grid operator XM shows Colombia's hydroelectric dam levels have reached 60% of their capacity following heavy recent rains, up from an all-time low of less than 30% earlier this year.

The Colombian and Ecuadoran grids are connected via four 230kV circuits and an additional 138kV connection. 

According to Ecuador's electricity network operator Cenace, Ecuador imported 864GWh in the first nine months of 2024, up from 793GWh a year earlier.

The draft resolution can be seen here, in Spanish.