Electrification in Colombia is just below the world average, at 19.4% in 2020, despite a good level of electrification in the residential sector and a high level in the services sector. Electrification has been steadily increasing since 2016 and achieved a further jump in 2020 as electricity demand decreased much less than total energy consumption. Per capita electricity demand kept increasing steadily throughout the decade, thanks to a rising demand in the industry sector, followed by the buildings sector.
Colombia has a high share of renewables-based power generation, dominated by hydropower, which accounts for about two-thirds of the total mix. Despite an increase in absolute generation, the fluctuating nature of hydropower caused its share to oscillate throughout 2010‑2020, with a marked drop in 2020 that resulted in a significant decrease of the overall renewables share. To compensate for this lower production, coal- and gas-fired electricity generation increased, bringing the overall CO2 emissions intensity to the highest level registered over the entire decade.