The impact of production shutdowns can already reach six figures within the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector in Latin America . In operations with critical loads, a network interruption not only halts processes but also generates rework, loss of raw materials, delivery delays, and compromises revenue.
This cost is beginning to change how companies evaluate their energy investments. The discussion is no longer just about how much a plant can save with solar power generation, but about how much business it can lose if it doesn't have backup power.
“For example, for a customer in the food sector in Colombia, a single blackout costs USD 120,000,” said Felipe Sánchez Gómez, manager of the Solar Line at Erco Energía , during the “It had to be said and it was said” streaming event by Energía Estratégica .
Why? “The customer stops the entire production process, and there are reworks, loss of raw materials. And having to start all over again and even losing customers, or delaying orders, is quite significant,” he explained.
“A blackout is a major impact on the industry, and considering one is no longer an option. A blackout represents losses exceeding USD 100,000,” added Gustavo Marín, LATAM Branch Manager at APsystems .
Relive the streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SGisyBGRjg&t=649s
This level of exposure pushes C&I towards more complete solutions, where photovoltaics has gained more ground recently, but storage starts to come into play from the design stage when operational continuity is part of the business case.
“Today, there isn’t a single company that isn’t seriously considering installing solar energy on its roofs or on its properties. The solar panel boom is everywhere, but this boom has a meaning: the cost of solar energy today is the cheapest in the world,” said Sánchez Gómez.
The starting point remains technical: available space, consumption profile, connectivity, and critical loads. From there, the question is how much to generate, how much to back up, and under what financial structure.
In Colombia, moreover, the pressure is increasing on the supply side, since, according to the specialist, the " driver " is the lack of supply , even though demand is growing on several fronts.
Electrified industrial processes, electric mobility, artificial intelligence and data centers add up consumption on a system where, according to Sánchez Gómez, the supply does not keep up with the same speed.
Also weighing on the matrix constraints and the "Super Niño" climate phenomenon are the increased pressure on hydroelectric generation, reservoirs and the reliability of the National Interconnected System, which has a more limited capacity to maneuver than in previous episodes.
“Most likely there will be blackouts, which haven't happened in Colombia for thirty years, or there will be energy rationing and companies will have to shut down production ,” said the manager of the Solar Line at Erco Energía .
This scenario changes the business case for batteries. The value is no longer just in displacing consumption or maximizing self-consumption, but in avoiding production losses.
While the sizing depends on each facility and not all companies need to back up an entire plant, the priority is to identify which loads cannot be allowed to fail and what the economic impact of doing so would be.
Erco has evaluated solutions of varying scales. According to the shared transcript, Sánchez Gómez mentions projects “ ranging from 100 kWh to 1 kWh for industrial use .”
APsystems observes higher requirements. “ Customers are asking for more than 2 MW ,” Marín indicated, although both specialists agreed that no two projects are alike, but rather each one is tailored to the specific needs of the clients.
Returns from 1.5 years and the leap towards hybrid projects
On the other hand, the financial equation changes depending on the chosen model. With its own resources, Erco Energía estimates the payback period to be between three and five years . However, with financial leasing and tax incentives, the period can be reduced to two years.
Each company's net income also impacts the result. APsystems uses a benchmark of around four years , although it is already registering considerably smaller recoveries.
“It depends on the impact it may have in terms of blackouts, but on average it takes about four years, and in some cases, there has been a return on investment in as little as a year and a half,” the LATAM Branch Manager of the company emphasized.
The cost of halting operations can further reduce that figure. The greater the loss associated with an interruption, the greater the economic value of the backup within the project.
This variable also drives a technological change in C&I: ceasing to evaluate generation and batteries separately.
“The conversation will revolve around the next year or two, and no project should be discussed as just solar; it's about solar and storage, hybrid systems everywhere,” Sánchez Gómez predicted.
For Erco, this transformation coincides with a significant leap in scale. The company announced a $129 million Series C funding round and aims to reach 1.3 GW of installed capacity and 500 MWh by 2030 , compared to approximately 300 MW currently.
The target represents a five- to six-fold increase. However, most of the volume will be outside of C&I: between 80% and 90% will be concentrated in utility scale .
That weight is already reflected in its pipeline. Erco recently signed a development of nearly 390 MW , the largest project closed by the company during the year, although it maintains its commitment to the commercial and industrial segment.
C&I maintains its place despite the leap in utility scale
The growth of large industrial parks does not displace commercial and industrial investment. The difference lies in solutions tailored to the consumption, operational risk, and financial capacity of each client.
Solar energy, batteries, PPAs, and financing schemes can all be combined within a single strategy. The logic depends less on any single technology and more on the total cost of powering and protecting the operation.
For the regional market, the signal is clear. Increased consumption, greater electrification, and greater exposure to outages raise the value of backup power within the cost and income (C&I) equation. It's no longer just about how much a company can save with distributed generation. It's also about how much business it can lose by not having a hybrid solution when the grid fails.