The lack of electricity in the small communities of Colombia and the solution

Juan Camilo Torres Martínez

Business School, Universidad del Norte
Class code: Business English VI
Professor Mayra Díaz
30 April, 2021
Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2
Executive summary 3
Introduction 4
Analysis 5
Communities’ background 5
Poverty issues and energy sources 6
Access and affordability of electricity in developing countries 6
Solution via efficient use of solar panels 7
References 9
Executive summary
TRS Energy is a company that was founded with a single purpose, which is clean and
affordable energy. We have a wide variety of technologies associated with clean energy
generation. Some of these technologies are hydroelectric plants and solar panels. The main
goal of our company is to reduce the CO2 emissions and provide an alternative that will help
the ecosystems and reduce contamination, as well as supporting countries where the
traditional energy generation methods do not reach the whole population. We study the
situation of 3rd world countries that lack the sufficient amount of energy to carry on with
their duties and develop properly. This study is done in order to come up with a solution
using our technologies. In this case we are working on the small communities of Colombia
who have adapted to living without constant energy flow. We’ve come up with a plan of
introducing our newest solar tracking panels, which are more efficient and power generating
than traditional solar panels. At TRS Energy we decided that the panels were the best option
because not all the communities have a strong water flow to support one of our hydroelectric
plants. Additionally the only way to get to some of these communities is by water, so the
panels were perfect as they are independent. This solution gives the citizens of these
communities a deep breath because they had to rely on electricity plants which were very
expensive, taking into account that most of these citizens are very low incomes.
Introduction
Colombia, being a developing country, has always had trouble in trying to improve all
of its territory’s quality of life at the same pace. The main cities are always up to date
regarding technological advances and living conditions. The opposite happens in the small
communities, the towns and villages which nowadays suffer from lack of electricity/energy,
some of them having as much as 6 hours of electricity per day.

The years pass and the citizens of these communities are still facing the consequences
of not having the enough energy to sustain their homes. Around 128.000 people who live in
these “Non-Interconnected Zones” have had to adapt their lives and get used to their energy
plant working correctly.

The purpose of this report is to analyze the current situation of colombia’s small
communities’ lack of electricity, evaluate the effect in the citizens’ daily lives, and find a way
to produce affordable, reliable and adequate electricity. The report highlights a method that
will expand the electricity network and increase the access to energy, also the benefits these
citizens will get.

In preparing this report, our team at TRS Energy checked the map that showed the
number of communities that have insufficient energy flow, which were around 11
municipalities, Sipi being the most affected. We also evaluated the new interconnection
project and how much it is left to cover, so we can come up with the approximate amount of
money required to develop our project. Additionally, we researched countries that have the
same electricity problem as Colombia, so we can study the solutions the other companies
have come up with.
Analysis

Communities’ background

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, around 120.000+ people have access
to electricity from 4 hours up to 12 hours. Because this amount of energy is not enough to
keep electrodomestics working, the citizens of these villages have had to adapt to live without
the constant flow of energy. The situation gets worse because the only way to access some of
these villages is by water.

The town of Sipi is one of the municipalities that get less than 24 hours of constant
energy flow. Some of the schools located can only work during daylight hours. Another
consequence is the rise of criminal groups who use the darkness as an advantage to do their
violent acts.

Figure 1 shows the distribution of the villages classified by department. The

department with the most villages without an electricity grid is Nariño, followed by Chocó
which together account for 909 villages that lack efficient energy flow, representing 43%.

Figure 1
Villages without electricity grid by department
Poverty issues and energy sources

The municipal capital of Sipi is a very poor village, the same happens with the rest of
municipalities from Nariño, Chocó, Cauca and Valle del Cauca. These municipalities have
very low income or zero, which makes it very difficult for the citizens to sustain electricity
plants. An electricity plant requires ACPM which consumes an average of 36 gallons for 10
hours which in pesos is about 10,800,000 pesos a month.

Access and affordability of electricity in developing countries

The colombian communities suffer the consequences of living in a developing

country. The idea here is to create clean and affordable energy. A study by the Energy
Research Centre of the University of Cape Town showed that the way to increase the access
to electricity in the countries of Zimbabwe and South Africa was the use of solar powered
technology, but encountered many technical problems and failures. Also in Colombia the
government has come to the same solution as the Energy Research Centre, which is the use of
renewable energies. The Ministry of Mines has invested over 2.7 trillion pesos to increase the
grids’ reach.

Figure 2 The next graphic shows how the government’s efforts have increased the
access to electricity in the rural sector over the years. It is necessary to highlight the fact that
having access to it doesn’t mean that it is stable nor the citizens having a constant energy
flow the whole day.
Figura 2 Access to electricity, rural sector (percentage)

Solution via efficient use of solar panels

The solution we’ve come up with is to build efficient solar panels. The amount of
research done around solar power is extensive. Additionally, the solar energy cost has
dropped over the years, with the cost of the kW/h being as small as a few cents. Also it is
expected to drop even further with the release of new technologies, such as titaniumoxide
cells.

With the implementation of the tracked panel comes an exponential power increase
going from an efficiency of 39% to 70%. The solar tracker consists of a panel with a motor
that moves the angle so it is always facing straight at the sun. This means that the cost is
reduced because it extracts more power from the sun, reducing the cost per watt becoming
more cost-effective.

Figure 3 The following chart is a comparison between a fixed panel and the tracking
panel. The tracking panel shows a higher energy absorption over the hours, at full power
during most of the day.
Figure 3 Experimental results of power increase for tracked panel

This method is required to drastically reduce, and even eliminate the lack of
electricity. It won’t be the most popular nor the one that generates most energy when
compared to traditional sources of electricity. Solar panels should be taken into account
because of the benefits that come with them and make other people realize that solar panels
are the future of electrical energy.
 References

Davidson, O., & Mwakasonda, S. A. (2004). Electricity access for the poor: a study of South
Africa and Zimbabwe. Energy for Sustainable Development, 8(4), 26-40.
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.456.1825&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Winkler, H., Simões, A. F., La Rovere, E. L., Alam, M., Rahman, A., & Mwakasonda, S.
(2011). Access and affordability of electricity in developing countries. World
development, 39(6), 1037-1050.
http://www.erc.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/119/Papers-
2011/11Winkler-et-al_Access_and_affordability.pdf
Rizk, J. C. A. Y., & Chaiko, Y. (2008). Solar tracking system: more efficient use of solar
panels. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 41, 313-315.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.306.7087&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Vivas, J. (2019). Los 1.710 poblados que aún se alumbran con velas en el país. El Tiempo.
https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/los-poblados-que-aun-no-
tienen-energia-electrica-en-colombia-324980

Banco Mundial. (2018). Acceso a la electricidad, sector rural (% de la población rural) -

Colombia | Data. (2018). Datos Banco Mundial.
https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS?locations=CO