National Interconnected System (SIN)

Andres Felipe Lopez Chaverra

Universidad De Antioquia

Ingles IV

Profesor

Wilmar Pérez Orrego

Antioquia - Medellín

Octubre 4 de 2021

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Diagram

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 Introduction

Satisfying all the needs and requirements of our society today requires a robust, reliable

and quality energy system. Electric power is necessary in all economic sectors, such as

household supply, industry, commerce, communications, health and entertainment. The

generation plants must be able to supply energy to any city in a country and this is achieved

through the interconnection of transmission lines; it has also become important to synchronize

different types of generation such as wind and solar renewable energies. It is very important to

guarantee the operation of the physical electric energy transportation system and a good

coordination of the companies and regulatory entities so that consumers can obtain energy at any

time of the day.

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 Abstract

An interconnected energy system is necessary to supply an entire country and meet its

energy needs; the system is made up of generating plants, transmission lines, distribution

substations, and wind and solar energy generators. The system has a large number of kilometers

of transmission and distribution lines that are operated by government entities and private

companies that are in charge of guaranteeing their continuous operation, quality and reliability.

Then the system is divided into generation where most of the energy is obtained from water

sources, transmission of energy at high voltage values and where the interconnection of all

power plants is performed, distribution where in each city the task of supplying energy to cities

and towns and control the connection of solar power plants, wind and small generators is

performed; finally marketing where there are companies that according to the demand and

consumption, the regulation of energy sales and political control is made.

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 National Interconnected System (SIN)

The National Interconnected System (SIN) is an integration of all the country's electric

power systems, which guarantees the electricity supply to all cities, towns and industries around

the clock.

Today it is difficult to imagine a world without electric power; in our homes we have

devices such as refrigerators, ovens, televisions, stereos, computers, lighting, heating devices and

other appliances that require electric power to operate. It is not only in our homes that we require

this service; it is also necessary for street lighting, energy supply to industry and commerce.

In order to supply the population and industry with electricity, it must first be generated

in hydroelectric and thermal power plants, then it must be transmitted from these places to the

cities through cables and electric power towers; in substations the energy is distributed to

different cities and industries.

In Colombia there were generation plants located in different regions of the country,

which supplied specific cities; but since the sixties the government has seen the need to integrate

the generation systems, so that plants located in any region could supply cities far away. Over the

years the system has grown, adding to its system renewable energy sources such as solar plants,

small generators and wind power plants.

This interconnected system is not only made up of companies in charge of generating,

transmitting and distributing; there are other companies such as XM- Compañía de Expertos en

mercados that are in charge of the administration of the system. The management of the system

is in charge of the Presidency of the Republic through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the

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planning is carried out by the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME), and the regulation

corresponds to the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG). Each of these companies

ensures that the system guarantees the electricity supply for the entire country at all times.

There are other entities that carry out control and surveillance, such as the

Superintendence of Industry and Commerce; and no less important is the National Operation

Council, which must agree on the technical aspects that guarantee safe, reliable and economic

operation.

Power generation plants

Eighty percent (80%) of Colombia's electricity is obtained from hydropower, sixteen

percent (16%) from fossil fuels and two percent (2%) from wind and solar systems.

Hydroelectric generation plants have the largest capacity and the lowest environmental impact,

although there is evidence of environmental impacts due to the construction of water dams and

social impacts. Fossil fuel generation plants are commissioned in cases where demand is very

high or in drought seasons because they have a negative impact on the environment. Wind and

solar generation plants do not yet have the capacity to supply large populations and are

dependent on weather conditions, affecting the reliability of the electricity sub-supply.

Transmission and distribution

After being generated, electrical energy must be delivered to consumers. After being

transmitted to cities, electrical energy must be distributed to the different urban and industrial

centers from substations that reduce the electrical voltage so that devices in homes can take

advantage of the energy.

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 It is important that interconnected systems operate in synchrony because, if they do not

operate at the same levels of voltage, current, frequency and other technical factors, the system

may fail and not supply energy with the required reliability. A bad synchronization can generate

not only lack of supply but also problems in consumption equipment, transmission and

distribution machines.

Marketing and consumption

Electric energy is commercialized by different companies such as EPM, ISAGEN,

CELSIA and others, these companies not only charge for the energy consumed; they also charge

for generation, transmission, distribution, commercialization, maintenance of the physical system

and taxes. In Colombia the price per Kilowatt Hour is calculated based on these parameters,

including rainy seasons, times of high and low energy demand, type of energy generated, amount

of power plants available for generation and other political and economic factors.

System characteristics

The National Interconnected System (SIN) has voltage levels for transmission ranging

from one hundred and ten thousand volts (110 KV) to five hundred thousand volts (500 KV) and

that compared to the one hundred and twenty volts with which we normally feed our devices at

home are very high voltages. The Colombian system has a total of twenty-six thousand

kilometers of transmission lines, which means that the system reaches almost the entire territory.

There are also two hundred and nine hydraulic, thermal, solar and wind generation plants that

generate approximately sixty-eight gigawatt hours per year (68 GWh).

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 Importance of the system

The National Interconnected System has allowed the dynamization of society, economy

and culture; having electricity at all times has become a service of prime necessity in any field,

whether in homes, industry, education and health. Nowadays it is of great importance to be able

to be communicated and connected, a bank needs to have its electronic systems online,

communication systems such as internet, telephony, television, mass transportation systems and

many more must always have a constant and good quality energy supply for the general

functioning of the social dynamics.

It is of vital importance to have backup to supply a city, if a transmission line or a

generator fails, it is necessary to have another line and generator that can supply the demand. For

these reasons, it is necessary to interconnect and synchronize all systems.

Microgrids

Renewable energies are becoming increasingly important because they are energies that

reduce the environmental impacts of traditional forms of generation. Renewable forms of energy

such as wind and solar must be well designed as they depend on weather conditions and are not

always available to provide energy to the system. All of these types of renewable generation and

small generators are known as microgrids. These microgrids are growing in number every day,

contributing electricity to the system, but the challenge lies in achieving synchrony with the

system, advancing in regulatory issues and economic benefits for those who install them.

Electric market

In Colombia we have four types of users that are part of the energy market, these users

must be differentiated by their consumption capacity and must follow certain rules for their

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characteristics. We in our homes are categorized as residential consumers and for this reason the

rates or costs of electricity have a standard value according to the socioeconomic level of the

sector where they reside; in Colombia the socioeconomic levels range from level 1 to level 6,

which indicates that they have a good capacity to acquire and access to basic services of water,

gas and electricity. These residential users are categorized as regulated users and the tariff

according to their socioeconomic level is imposed by the CREG, which is the energy and gas

regulatory commission.

The other type of user that exists in our country are the non-regulated users such as

industries, these must be industries that consume 55000 KWh or more, otherwise they are

categorized in the system of regulated users and seen as residential users; these industries or non-

regulated users can enter the market of purchase and sale of electricity represented by a trading

company. Non-regulated users, being large consumers of energy, must comply with regulatory

standards for the proper functioning of the SIN, due to the use of power machines such as motors

or inductive loads that can generate failures in the distribution, transmission and generation

systems.

The cost of energy in the market for non-regulated users will depend on the generation

mechanisms, i.e. the amount of energy demand at a given time and the number of plants

available for generation. Generators guarantee a minimum generation through auctions to start

operating and generate energy, thus guaranteeing energy supply even in times of drought, this

phenomenon is called reliability charge and the price of electricity will depend on weather

conditions and system auctions for the operation of power plants.

In Colombia the cost of energy also depends on the type of plants that come into

operation, energy generated by hydroelectric plants is cheaper than energy generated by fossil

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fuel and natural gas plants. The hydrocarbon plants are plants that only come into operation in

special times such as droughts or a very high demand for energy, also in areas where it is not

possible to reach with the SIN and it is necessary that these plants come into operation to supply

unregulated and residential users.

The third user in our country is the energy consumption for public lighting, which is a

special category and the companies that manage this sector can also participate in the energy

market. Part of the cost of energy for public lighting is charged to residential users under a

regulated tariff, but the overall cost is negotiated by the company that manages the system.

The fourth energy consumer is other countries through electricity exports and are

regulated under agreements and regulations of both countries. They also become part of the

electricity market system.

Types of markets

Short-term market

There is an economic dispatch system by which the SIN administrator determines which

generating plants enter or leave operation the following day according to the offers made by the

generators in terms of prices and quantities to be generated. It is known as the energy auction and

it is carried out to guarantee that the energy demand of all consumers can always be covered and

the power plants that do not manage to enter to contribute to the network can sell energy to other

industries independently; but they must be prepared to contribute energy to the system in case of

a high demand at any time of the day.

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 Medium-term market

In this type of market, companies can negotiate the purchase and sale of energy with

other companies, in this market system the government is not present and it is totally

independent, the decisions to buy and sell are free contracts. The basis for negotiation is the

stock market price of electricity. This medium-term market for the sale of electricity to regulated

users has specific rules so as not to affect users. It allows negotiators to know future purchase

and sale prices.

Long-term market

It is the means of commercialization for generators, in which they can agree on annual

sales prices to be able to manage projects and finance them. Having clarity in the reliability of

generation in the future; with this the generation projects guarantee the energy for the users in the

future. With this, users can have as a basis a maximum price in times of scarcity or drought

phenomena known as "El Niño".

Renewable energies in the market

Renewable energies are still in the process of a normative and regulatory framework,

because they are plants that still do not represent a great amount of energy contributed to the

SIN, they are also plants that lack reliability since they depend totally on the generation

conditions; as an example we have solar energy since they depend on the energy radiated by the

sun, also wind plants that depend on the amount of wind and its speed. These energies need a

different market system because they are not always available to generate and deliver energy to

the grid of the national interconnected system. In Colombia there are different projects of solar,

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wind and biomass generating parks through microgrids that together can generate a considerable

amount of power for the system.

Renewable energies must have the capacity to interconnect to the grid, for this they must

comply with technical characteristics such as matching the voltage or tension of the grid,

matching as much as possible the electrical waveform of the grid and having systems that avoid

interferences for the transmission of energy. Due to these aspects, renewable energy generation

is a critical and necessary point; the SIN needs generation sources that provide relief in times of

very high demand, it needs to guarantee the under supply of energy and clarity at the time of

commercialization according to the generating source in order to standardize prices and give

room in the market to all generators.

Law

The constitutional court declares electric energy as a fundamental service, which allows

for a better quality of life for all people and communities. Electric energy allows access to the

economy, culture and digital information; it also allows living in spaces with adequate heating,

preservation and refrigeration of food. The aim is to guarantee a minimum access to electric

energy; thus guaranteeing other human rights and services necessary for life, improving and

increasing the scope of education.

Rapporteurship - Constitutional Court of Colombia

In Colombia, Law 143 of July 11, 1994 establishes the regime for the generation,

interconnection, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electricity in the national

territory.

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 Conclusions

- The interconnected system can supply any city with any of the generating plants.

- The system allows a good quality of electric power service.

- The system provides high reliability to consumers.

- An interconnected system incorporates different types of power generation.

- The system is of great importance for the development of society, economy, culture and

welfare.

-All energy resources from all regions of the country available.

-All interconnected systems meet the same standards.

-Avoid blackouts and blackouts.

-Improve the quality of electric power.

-Contribute to environmental sustainability.

-To have a reliable, safe and quality system.

-Allow the opening of the energy market.

-Allow the incorporation of different types of electricity generation.

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