Lessons from deregulation in Colombia: successes, failures and the way ahead

Performance and efficiency in Colombia's power distribution system: Effects of the 1994 reform

“…García and Arbelaez (2002) evaluate the likelihood of merging among power generators acting in the wholesale electricity market. Larsen et al (2004) present a set of aggregate statistics of Colombia's power sector to highlight the lessons derived from the implementation of market deregulation policies in Colombia for network industries since 1994.…”

The privatization of EEB: From cash drain to major contributor

“…First, in many cases developing countries are not able to make the necessary investment in the electricity sector to match growth in demand. It is well known that there is a close connection between demand for electricity and economic growth-so a shortage in electricity is likely to slow down any economic growth (Larsen et al, 2004). Furthermore, the companies that invest are running a relatively high risk, from an economic viewpoint.…”

“…The institutional frameworks, the exact way in which the industry was deregulated, and the structural changes made have been very different in different countries, and have been extensively written about at the national level (see among others Arango et al, 2006;Hunt, 2002;Midttun, 1997;Armstrong et al, 1994). There is still no consensus on how successful deregulation has been, for example see Larsen et al (2004) for a case of a successful deregulation, and Beder (2003) for a discussion of why deregulation cannot be successful. These comparisons are particularly difficult as there is no clear agreement on the criteria for judging whether the process was successful or not; furthermore, we might need much more time to be able to see if, for example, the incentives for investment in capacity are successful and deliver the necessary increases in capacity.…”

“…Furthermore, Colombia had experienced two major blackout periods, during 1983 and 1992-1993, and political pressure was mounting to find a solution to the problem and avoid future blackouts (Garcı´a and Dyner, 2000). Deregulation seemed an appropriate solution to the problems of high non-technical losses, lack of efficiency, and inadequate capacity that characterized the system, and there was a strong need to allow for non-government private financing of the electricity sector (Larsen et al, 2004).…”

Análisis de mercados con restricciones de red: aplicación al caso colombiano

“…El proceso de liberalización del mercado eléctrico en Colombia se inicia siguiendo el esquema utilizado por el Reino Unido con algunas diferencias, dentro de las que encontramos [65]:…”