Colombia: Earthquake affects power grid, but no damage reported at solar plants

The earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday had a magnitude of 7.4, with its epicenter in the municipality of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a depth of 103 km, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC). The earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. and was the strongest recorded in the country so far this century. More than 200 deaths have been reported to date.

The SGC said the earthquake was felt in nearly 900 population centers, reaching a maximum reported intensity of 7, corresponding to severe damage. By midday Monday, 18 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 4.8 had been recorded. The agency attributed the earthquake to the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate.

18% of demand initially unmet

In the electricity sector, grid operator XM reported that approximately 18% of national demand went unmet immediately after the earthquake. The disruptions were concentrated in the departments of Caldas, Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Huila, Nariño, Putumayo, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima, and Valle del Cauca.

According to XM, the main impacts were not at power generation plants but on assets belonging to the Regional Transmission Systems (STR) and Local Distribution Systems (SDL). Following contingency and recovery operations, demand served by the National Interconnected System (SIN) had recovered to approximately 99% of pre-earthquake levels by the end of Monday.

However, recovery was not complete as of Tuesday. Available reports indicate that the Coffee Axis (Eje Cafetero) and Chocó still had approximately 20% unmet demand. In Valle del Cauca, the figure stood at around 18.5%, while in Cauca and Nariño it was approximately 5%.

No damage reported to solar generation assets

As of publication, there have been no public reports of physical damage to modules, trackers, inverters, or other equipment at utility-scale photovoltaic plants as a result of the earthquake. Available information indicates that the main impacts on the electricity sector have instead been concentrated on evacuation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

Celsia, a company with a significant photovoltaic presence in several affected regions, reported after the earthquake that some of its transmission and distribution assets, as well as certain substations, experienced outages or service interruptions. However, the company said its generation infrastructure and Nova Control Center were not affected and continued to operate normally and safely. Celsia did not provide a breakdown of this assessment by generation technology.

The information is particularly relevant to the photovoltaic sector because Celsia operates numerous solar plants in Valle del Cauca and Tolima, two departments where power supply disruptions were reported. Its facilities in Valle del Cauca include La Victoria 1 and 2, with 19.9 MW each; Palmira 1, with 19.9 MW; Buga, with 9.9 MW; Yumbo, with 9.8 MW; Tuluá, with 9.95 MW; La Paila, with 9.9 MW; and El Carmelo, with 9.8 MW.

In Tolima, Celsia’s portfolio includes Flandes and Dulima, with 19.9 MW each, as well as San Felipe, Lanceros, Yuma, and Espinal, each with approximately 9.9 MW. The company says it currently operates 25 solar farms with a combined installed photovoltaic capacity of more than 480 MW.

The impacts observed so far highlight the distinction between the physical integrity of generation assets and the availability of the electricity grid. A photovoltaic plant can sustain no structural damage yet still face temporary limitations in delivering electricity if substations, transmission lines, or distribution networks associated with its point of interconnection are taken out of service.