Impacto de la generación distribuida en el sistema eléctrico de potencia colombiano: un enfoque dinámico

Distributed Generation (DG) has emerged as an important alternative to provide electrical energy since it could increase the reliability and security of electric power supply in the short, medium and long term. Despite these potential advantages, the Colombian regulatory framework does not recognize DG as a valid activity within the country's interconnected system and, as such, no policy exists to encourage investment in small-scale generation projects. This article first describes the technical and financial aspects of DG, and then analyses regulatory proposals regarding the inclusion of DG in power systems outside Colombia. These aspects are then brought together in a mental model based on the concepts of feedback theories as well as of cause and effect relationships; such concepts are part of the System Dynamics methodology (SD). This model is aimed at creating a virtual world which would allow the usefulness of various regulatory alternatives to be evaluated and thus an appropriate option to be chosen according to the regulation that best fits technical, climactic and economic conditions, and also according to the market structure used in the Colombian interconnected system.