Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella , has appointed María Nohemí Arboleda Arango as the next Minister of Mines and Energy, a decision with which he seeks to send a signal of technical certainty to the electricity market before assuming the government on August 7.
The current CEO of XM will take over at a crucial time for the country. Supply reliability, the completion of over 5,000 MW of pending projects, the new long-term auction, battery storage deployment, and tariff pressures will form a significant part of her initial agenda.
“ To reassure the country and the markets, I announce the appointment of Dr. María Noemí Arboleda Arango as Minister of Mines and Energy ,” De la Espriella stated while introducing the future member of his cabinet.
The appointment places an executive with 30 years of experience in energy planning, operation of electric power systems, and energy market management at the head of the Ministry. Arboleda is an electrical engineer from the National University of Colombia, with a specialization and master's degree in energy distribution and transmission.
Furthermore, the incoming official currently heads XM, an ISA subsidiary responsible for operating the National Interconnected System and managing the wholesale energy market. Her professional background includes direct knowledge of grid operational constraints, electricity dispatch, and market economic signals .
“ She is a true newcomer, she has never been in politics ,” says the president-elect, who presents this condition as a sign of the technical profile he intends to give to the new administration.
De la Espriella also highlights that Arboleda was one of the first women to hold leadership positions within the Colombian energy sector. According to the incoming president, the executive has played a key role in consolidating XM and building the technical infrastructure that enables the system's daily operation.
“ She is an absolute defender of meritocracy, complementarity and leadership, of course, technical and human, which is what we need in this government ,” she says.
The arrival of Arboleda comes as various actors warn about the need to incorporate new firm generation capacity, accelerate the expansion of the networks and materialize the projects already awarded .
“ With María Noemí, we will form an excellent team to face the real risk of energy shortages that we inherited from the mismanagement of the previous government ,” De la Espriella declared.
Beyond the political assessment of the president-elect, the system's adequacy will be one of the immediate tests for the new minister. The expansion of renewable energy sources must be coordinated with firm power, storage, new transmission lines, and mechanisms that provide flexibility during off-peak hours of solar and wind power production .
According to figures from SER Colombia , the country is expected to end 2026 with approximately 4,200 MW of installed renewable capacity , while another 5,086 MW are still awaiting financial closure . The industry association warns that this situation is putting pressure on construction schedules and increasing the risk of further delays in the commissioning of these projects.
Adding to this scenario is the need to incorporate at least 6,000 MW over the next five years to avoid supply tensions from 2027 onwards. The next administration will also inherit an unawarded reliability charge auction and will have to conduct the long-term tender for new renewable generation.
The incoming minister will also have to manage the decisive stage of the new long-term contract auction. The call for bids received expressions of interest from 43 agents , although industry experts warn that there will likely be more participation from buyers than from generators willing to bid.
Concerns include the required bank guarantees, the actual availability of connection points, and a tight timeline. These factors could limit competition and hinder the participation of companies that, even with projects, lack sufficiently robust financial structures.
The contracts will have a 15-year duration , while supply will begin in 2030 or 2035, depending on the product awarded. The process incorporates battery storage systems and aims to provide revenue predictability to accelerate the financing of new renewable energy parks.
Continue reading
Energy storage will be another key issue. The Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission has launched calls for bids to award battery storage projects and established remuneration mechanisms for investors, with the aim of attracting capital and increasing the flexibility of the Colombian electricity system .
“ Today a light of hope shines on the energy system, the era of reliability, firm with the future, firm with responsibility ,” the president-elect expressed.
The priorities of the renewable energy sector
In parallel, SER Colombia proposes five priority decisions to the next government to connect the development of renewable energies with the concrete concerns of Colombians.
The industry group argues that the first measures should be aimed at strengthening energy security, boosting investment, modernizing the electrical infrastructure, and consolidating the growth of clean energy sources .
This approach aligns with one of the industry's main demands: reducing the gap between announced, awarded, and actually completed projects. To achieve this, the sector is calling for greater coordination among the entities responsible for granting licenses, connections, permits, and territorial approvals.
The expansion of transmission will also be crucial. Without new networks, some renewable capacity could remain limited by congestion or a lack of available infrastructure to transmit generation from regions with better resources.
The new minister will have to reconcile these needs with the government's social objectives. Renewable energy growth must translate into greater reliability, competitive prices, employment, and regional investment , and not remain solely a target for installed capacity.
Tariffs and financial sustainability
Another of Arboleda's direct tasks will be to address the tariff situation in the Colombian Caribbean, where financial problems, high levels of losses, investment needs, and questions about the quality of service converge.
“ I have also entrusted him with the mission of solving the serious tariff problem in my beloved Caribbean ,” De la Espriella stated.
Reviewing this front will require coordination between the Ministry, the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission, the Superintendency of Public Services, the service providers, and the Ministry of Finance.
The president-elect anticipates that the future minister will have financial support within the cabinet to ensure uninterrupted service and prevent corporate imbalances from becoming an additional risk to the system. “ The designated minister, María Noemí, will have the support and guidance of the Minister of Finance to do everything necessary to ensure that the sector's financial conditions guarantee the continued provision of energy services ,” he affirmed.
He added: "The designated minister received instructions to work in coordination with the Minister of Defense to protect the electrical infrastructure, and also to work with the Minister of the Environment to advance projects respecting biodiversity as it should be."
The appointment of a specialist from XM marks the first energy-focused move by the new government. However, the market will assess her performance based on her ability to translate technical knowledge into sound regulatory, financial, and operational decisions.
The agenda will combine short-term urgencies with structural transformations: guaranteeing supply, recovering investments, unlocking renewable generation, integrating batteries, expanding networks and containing pressure on bills.
For Arboleda, the challenge will be ensuring that these pieces move forward in a coordinated manner. For Colombia, what's at stake is that the energy transition ceases to depend solely on new contracts and instead translates into operational infrastructure, security of supply, and sustainable prices for consumers.