Professional Documents
Culture Documents
National Interconnected System3
National Interconnected System3
Universidad De Antioquia
Ingles IV
Profesor
Antioquia - Medellín
Octubre 4 de 2021
1
Diagram
2
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
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
3
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
4
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
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,
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
5
is in charge of the Presidency of the Republic through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the
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.
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
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
6
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.
CELSIA and others, these companies not only charge for the energy consumed; they also charge
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
7
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
generator fails, it is necessary to have another line and generator that can supply the demand. For
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
8
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
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
9
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
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
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
10
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
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
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,
11
wind and biomass generating parks through microgrids that together can generate a considerable
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
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
In Colombia, Law 143 of July 11, 1994 establishes the regime for the generation,
territory.
12
Conclusions
- The interconnected system can supply any city with any of the generating plants.
- The system is of great importance for the development of society, economy, culture and
welfare.
13
Bibliography
https://www.celsia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Documento-de-trabajo-sobre-el-
Sistema-Interconectado-Nacional.pdf
http://docplayer.es/151009769-Criterios-tecnicos-para-la-conexion-y-operacion-
de-los-generadores-eolicos-a-gran-escala-al-sistema-interconectado-nacional-
sin-de-colombia.html
Palmas, 36(3), 43–53.
https://publicaciones.fedepalma.org/index.php/palmas/article/view/11575
https://publicaciones.fedepalma.org/index.php/palmas/article/view/11575/11567
https://www.cemieoceano.mx/congresos/PDF/E09.%20AVANCES%20DE%20LA
%20ENERG%C3%8DA%20MAREOMOTRIZ%20Y%20E%C3%93LICA
%20MARINA%20EN.pdf?
__cf_chl_managed_tk__=pmd_EWoGo.IKRYOom.75CTj4Vj5AOyQtTGSXg1G9
Ob1EzzY-1632114638-0-gqNtZGzNA3ujcnBszRRl
14
(S/f-c). Recuperado el 20 de septiembre de 2021, de http://chrome-
extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F
%2Frepositorio.unal.edu.co%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2Funal
%2F78113%2F1053834460.2020.pdf%3Fsequence%3D4%26isAllowed
%3Dy&clen=3267450
https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2015/T-761-15.htm
extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A
%2F%2Fwww.minenergia.gov.co%2Fdocuments%2F10180%2F23517%2F21443-
3668.pdf
https://www.xm.com.co/Paginas/Consumo/mercados.aspx
15
16