Colombia

Getting Electricity in

Colombia

Listed below are the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Name of Utility: CODENSA
  • City: Bogota

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Getting Electricity page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 The customer submits a service application to Codensa and awaits the preparation of a feasibility study and cost estimate

The customer submits his service application in person in one of the offices of Codensa. The application has to indicate the electricity load required and include a number of supporting documents. Codensa will conduct an internal study to assess whether the new connection is feasible or not. In simple cases, Codensa will just authorize the connection. In more complicated cases, the utility will request a design of the works necessary to do the connection first. This second case is more likely for a load of 140kVA. The client will receive a letter summarizing the availability of electricity in the area in question and the works that will be required for the connection. The approved application has a validity of one year, which means that the customer has one year from the moment of approval to finalize the relevant procedures needed to obtain an electricity connection from Codensa.

Agency: Codensa 		30 calendar days no charge
* 2 Codensa inspects the premise in order to prepare the feasability study

In order to inform the technical appraisal of the feasibility o the connection, Codensa will conduct a site inspection. A representative of the customer should be present during the inspection to answer questions.

Agency: Codensa 		7 calendar days no charge
3 The customer contracts a construction firm or an approved design engineer to prepare a design of the external connection works and to carry out the connection works

If the customer choose a private company to do the external connection work the firm will have to prepare a design of the planned works. Codensa's engineers will then review the design that was prepared. During this period, Codensa also obtains the relevant right of ways/excavation permits from the Instituto de Desarollo Urbano (IDU). Once the design is approved, the sub-contractor can carry out the need connection works.

According to the regulations, only an electrical engineer (ingeniero electricista) is allowed to prepare the design for the external connection works. The actual works can be later carried out by an electrician with just a technical formation (un técnico con matricula). In the majority of the cases, the construction firm that constructed the building will also do the connection works of installing a dedicated distribution transformer or a small sub-station. The actual works take only a few days.


Agency: Ingeniero eléctricista con matricula profesional o empresa de construccion 		105 calendar days COP 109,000,000.0
* 4 The customer has to obtain a certification of the internal wiring installations from a firm registered with the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC)

Once the internal wiring installations have been finalized, the customer has to request an inspection from a firm registered with the ONAC (Organismo Nacional De Acreditación) or the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC). The firm will assess whether the internal wiring installations comply with the standards of the RETIE (Reglamento Técnico de Instalaciones Eléctricas) and issue an inspection certificate to the customer. The inspection certificate has to be submitted to Codensa before the electricity supply is turned on. A list of firms accredited to conduce inspection can be found at http://www.sic.gov.co/Informacion_Interes/Entidades%20acreditadas/Directorio%20-%20Area2.php.


Agency: Firm accredited with ONAC (Organismo Nacional De Acreditación) or the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) 		7 calendar days COP 1,600,000.0
5 After the customer signs the supply contract, Codensa inspects the external works, installs the meter and energizes the project

The supply contract is signed after the external connection works have been inspected by Codensa. Codensa will then energize the project.
In order to energize the new connection Codensa has to inform other customers that are connected in the same area that their electricity will be cut to connect a new client. Codensa does this usually through the press and the last bill before the disconnection is made. This means they have to give their clients at least two weeks of advance notice. In most of the cases, this time frame is enough to connect the new customer. The meter is installed and the electricity is flowing from that point in time. Codensa provides the meter.

The customer also has to pay a security deposit equivalent to one month of consumption. The deposit is returned to the client without interest at the end of the contract.


Agency: Codensa 		30 calendar days COP 11,770,264.8
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Explore Economy Data