Our purpose is to consolidate a powerful, diversified, resilient and competitive generation portfolio. The generation of energy allows us to produce an essential good, which favors economic development and provides social well-being; hence our commitment to ensuring business continuity, through strategic investments and asset maintenance, in order to increase efficiency, availability and installed capacity, while managing risks associated with health and safety of our employees and our impacts.
We manage a diversity of assets that contribute to the sustainable development of our society and that, due to their importance and durability, must go beyond generations.
We have a series of fundamental factors to achieve our management:
As well as other businesses, the Power Generation business has contributed to the leverage of innovative investments, such as electric mobility and the generation of energy from unconventional renewable sources, in which we are pioneers.
Our Power Generation business currently represents 7.46% of the Colombian energy matrix and represents 54.25% of the Company’s total revenue, corresponding to COP 1.6 trillion of the total revenue, which – in 2019 – reached COP 3.1 trillion.
We also highlight the following milestones:
We carried out remote operation from our 60-MW Operation Center NOVA, at the Alto and Bajo Tuluá hydroelectric plants, and Amaime, in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
We improved the availability indicators at the Meriléctrica thermal power plant in Santander: we went from 98.76% to 100%, and in reliability, from 99.73% to 100%.
We made 90% progress in the construction of the San Andrés de Cuerquia plant in Antioquia, Colombia.
Our generation assets are managed with rigorously scheduled maintenance programs and with an average Annual Investment Plan of USD 25 million. We have a group of highly qualified employees for the intervention of the generation units and for the definition of investment strategies, focused on:
The efficient use of water.
Increased efficiency of turbines and generators.
Technological update.
Innovation.
We have planned maintenance programs with a short- (one year), medium- (five years) and long-term (10 years) vision, always aligned with:
Seasons.
Energy prices in the market.
The availability of fuels and/or gas.
The environmental authorities.
Thus, our technical team guarantees the best operational and tactical efficiency aligned with the Organization’s strategy.
Every year we set challenging goals that allow us to achieve operational excellence at all times by going the “extra mile.”
Installed Capacity
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Installed capacity
Energy generated
21 hydroelectric power plants
13 in Valle del Cauca, Colombia
3 in Chiriquí, Panama
2 in Antioquia, Colombia
2 in Tolima, Colombia
1 in Cauca, Colombia
Installed capacity
3 thermal backup centers
2 in Colón, Panama
1 in Santander, Colombia
Installed capacity
1 project under construction (Colombia)
* Decrease for the sale of the Zona Franca
Solar farms
2 solar farms connected to the National Electrical Grid
1 in Bolívar, Colombia
1 in the Coclé Province, Panama
4 dedicated solar farms in operation
3 Valle del Cauca, Colombia
1 Comayagua, Honduras
Installed capacity
220MW of portfolio in solar farm projects
49 Roofs
45 in Colombia
4 in Central America
Installed capacity
56 projects being installed – 23 MW
1 wind plant
1 in Guanacaste, Costa Rica
49.5MW
Installed capacity
330 MW in 4 parks projected in La Guajira and 10 MW in Atlántico, Colombia
Our installed capacity decreased by 610 MW – compared to 2018 – due to the sale of the thermal assets of the Zona Franca in Barranquilla, Colombia, as part of the Company’s strategy to balance the energy matrix.
Principal Results by Technology
Below, we present the principal results by generation technology:
During 2019, we generated 5,625.31 GWh, which represents a decrease of 890.42 GWh compared to 2018. Here are some highlights of this result:
97.5%
generation with hydraulic plants with reservoirs.
20%
less generation in small hydroelectric power plants.
53.5%
less generation with combined-cycle thermal plants, due to the sale of the Flores I and Flores IV assets.
(EU2)
Total Energy Generated
At Celsia we are committed to our sustainability strategy focused on renewable energy. We have in development more than 364 MW and 350 MW of solar and wind projects, respectively, which are feasible or in a higher stage of progress. We expect a figure close to 270 MW to come into operation before 2021, and the remainder between 2022 and 2024.
The management of the Development teams during 2019 allowed almost double the megawatts, compared to the same data in 2018; thus, we consolidated ourselves as one of the most relevant developers in the Colombian market in non-conventional renewable energies, which was evident – primarily –with the adjudication of 767 GWh-year of energy from wind projects, located in La Guajira, at the long-term energy auction carried out by the Ministry of Mines and Energy in October 2019.
Efficiency in coal-fired power generation plants increased 0.24% in 2019, primarily due to maintenance management and more efficient operation, all based on optimizing start-up and shutdown of units, and a generation at maximum load.
For 2019, the combined-cycle natural gas-based power generation plants did not have information due to the sale of this asset, in line with our strategy to balance our energy matrix and achieve the goal of generating 25% of our energy through unconventional renewable sources in five years.
Meriléctrica is a simple cycle plant that operates on natural gas. Its average efficiency is between 30% and 34%. This level has been maintained over time, confirming the excellent condition of the plant as a backup and that there has been no degradation in the components of its generation units.
(EU11)
Notes to the Table:
- In 2018, the value is zero (0) due to the sale of the Zona Franca Thermal Power Plant.
The average availability of coal-based plants decreased due to higher dispatch of the plant in 2019 compared to 2018. The main causes were:
- The rupture of pipes in the boiler.
- The entry of sodium in the capacitors.
- The change of the TV9 bearing.
For hydraulic and wind power plants, availability during 2019 was 92.17% against the established goal of 89.07%. The increase was mainly the result of optimizing the planning of plant shutdowns and scheduled maintenance, which allowed us to minimize downtime.
(EU30)
Average Availability (%)
New Challenges
- Short Term0 to 2 years
- Medium Term3 to 5 years
- Long Term6 years or more
Build the Tesorito power-generation plant, in Córdoba, Colombia.
Build the Carreto wind-generation plant in Atlántico, Colombia.
Start up the small San Andrés de Cuerquia hydroelectric plant in Antioquia, Colombia.
Operate and maintain the Guanacaste wind plant in Costa Rica with our own personnel.
Consolidate our offer in solar generation in Colombia and Central America.
Strengthen the portfolio of wind-energy supply with the construction of the first Celsia wind farm in Colombia, thus advancing in the development phases of the projects currently contemplated for the medium term.
Implement the remote operation from NOVA of three small hydroelectric power stations and a larger hydro-power station.
Develop all the elements required for detailed in-house engineering execution for photovoltaic projects on the floor (farms) and roof.
Achieve the consolidated remote operation of 120 MW in our NOVA Operation Center.
Implement the Advanced Generation Diagnostic System (AGDS) for Colombia's hydroelectric plants, which will improve asset management by anticipating failures and avoiding corrective actions that affect generation availability and deviations.
Consolidate the wind supply with the commissioning of projects in northern Colombia.
Develop a wind project in Costa Rica to take advantage of a possible adjudication by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute.
Identify and develop initiatives to increase the installed capacity in solar- and wind-generation plants in both Colombia and Central America.
Identify new business models or new markets that allow the development of initiatives aligned with our sustainable and renewable strategy.
Implement the technological updating of the power transformers of the units of the Bajo Anchicayá hydroelectric plant, Colombia.
Increase the efficiency of the Francis-type turbine of the Calima and Bajo Anchicayá hydroelectric plants in Valle del Cauca.
Enter new markets in the Caribbean and Central America region.
Glossary
Installed Capacity
Production potential or maximum production volume that can be achieved during a given period of time, taking into account all available resources.
Unconventional Renewable Sources
All those energy generation sources in which the consumption, expense or exhaustion of their generating source is not incurred. Among these energy sources are hydraulic energy, wind energy, among others.
Advanced Vision Operations Center (NOVA, in Spanish)
Our integrated operations center, unique in Latin America. It places our Organization at the forefront of monitoring, supervising and controlling the entire electrical network and new businesses.
Cogeneration
A high energy efficiency system, in which electrical energy and thermal energy are obtained simultaneously from primary energy, which – in turn – is usually obtained by burning fossil fuels, such as gas.
Serena del Mar
An urban project, the construction of which began in 2015 and which establishes a new concept of city north of Cartagena de Indias, based on the pillars of design for the future, integrated with nature and with opportunities for all.