The drivers of growth in Colombia's electricity demand

Colombian energy demand rose in July amid higher consumption from users of the regulated market, new figures show. 

Demand was 6,944GWh, up from 6,801GWh in July last year, according to data published by grid operator and wholesale power market coordinator XM. 

The regulated market – mainly comprising households and small industries – grew 2.37% to 4,792GWh, representing 69% of total consumption. The deregulated market, meanwhile, shrank 1% to 2,115GWh, accounting for 31% of the total. 

The Caribbean region was the leading consumer with 2,002GWh, followed by Centro (1,600GWh) and Oriente (979GWh). 

Demand drivers

The business sector that reported the sharpest growth was extractive industries (oil and gas, mining) which saw demand jump 3.73% to 636GWh, representing 30.1% of the total. 

It was followed by transport and storage, which rose 1.62% to 48.3GWh, making up 2.28% of the market. 

Manufacturing, which accounted for 39.8% of total electricity demand, climbed 0.51% to 843GWh. 

Meanwhile, decreases were reported in the following sectors: agriculture (down 0.2%), automotive (down 1.34%), financial (down 2.8%), construction (down 3.55%), energy supply (down 9.73%), and social services (down 20.6%).