On September 28, 2026, the economic dispatch scheduled 98.5 MW of emergency rationing for the afternoon peak hour, and on September 29 the redispatch anticipated a 330 MW cut, according to Germán Alberto Caicedo, president of the National Operations Council (CNO), at the MEM Congress in Cartagena. It never reached a single household, but it came close. With El Niño now declared, your plant needs a load shedding plan: the decision, made before the emergency, about which equipment is disconnected first and in what order to protect the process.

What happened on September 28 and 29, and why does it call for a load shedding plan?

The availability declared by generators did not cover the forecast demand. The two figures are different stages of the process and do not add up: 98.5 MW on September 28 and 330 MW on September 29, according to the CNO.

Rationing was avoided through last-minute maneuvers, the entry of unplanned thermal plants and demand lower than forecast. Juan Carlos Morales, acting general manager of XM, summed it up: "We came to need rationing in the system" (El Colombiano and Infobae, October 15, 2026).

For a plant, the lesson is concrete. When the system is short of power, the order to cut load arrives with little warning. Whoever did not decide beforehand what to switch off ends up deciding in minutes, and blind.

How tight is the system with El Niño declared?

Very tight. XM reported that the October 1 schedule had a reserve of only 152 MW, with a reduced margin due to maintenance, failures and unavailable units.

According to XM energy bulletin 362 (October 2, 2026), September demand rose about 6 % over September 2025 and the peak reached 12,683 MW. Hydrological inflows stood at 56.83 % of the historical mean on October 1, and more than 360 load disconnection instructions had already accumulated in 2026.

The national weather service (Ideam) officially declared El Niño on October 8, 2026, with strong to very strong intensity and a critical phase expected between December 2026 and February 2027. The CNO sees risk between February and April 2027 if the hydrology resembles that of 2015 to 2017 and thermal plants are limited to 85 GWh/day (they currently deliver about 83 GWh/day against the roughly 96 they should, according to El Colombiano on October 15).

The wallet already feels it: the spot price went from an average of COP 254.1/kWh in January to COP 1,105/kWh so far in September, with a peak of COP 1,513/kWh on September 18 (XM data cited by La República on September 22, 2026).

How are loads classified for an orderly load shedding plan?

In three tiers, defined by the process and not by the switchboard. Maintenance, production and industrial safety classify them together. It is the hardest part and the one that pays off most.

Every circuit must be metered: without knowing how many kW each load frees up, the plan is a list of good intentions.

What switchboards and controls does a load shedding plan need?

Three things: where to cut, who gives the order and how it is confirmed. To cut, motorized breakers or contactors are used on the feeders of the deferrable and essential loads, grouped by priority in the low-voltage distribution switchboard or in a motor control center (MCC).

The order comes from a PLC (programmable logic controller) or a frequency or voltage relay, with coordinated timing so the steps do not collide. It must be possible to trigger it automatically and also manually, from the control room, when dispatch or the grid operator requests it. Reconnection is staggered so the plant does not create its own peak when everything comes back at once.

Power metering per circuit feeds the logic and leaves evidence of how much load was reduced. The automatic transfer switch (ATS) and the backup generator are integrated into the plan; in our October 7, 2026 article on ATS we explain how they are coordinated with the rest of the distribution.

How is a load shedding plan tested and maintained?

In five steps, and the fourth is the one almost nobody does:

Specification lesson. A load shedding plan that was never tested is not a plan. Before the critical phase of El Niño, put in writing what is switched off first, who authorizes it, how many kW each step frees up and when it was last tested.

What does public policy propose, and where does Ectricol fit?

The CNO proposed four lines of action for the next 180 days, including reducing and managing demand (demand response and industrial savings) and modernizing the Rationing Statute, in force since 1998 (El Colombiano, October 15, 2026). The estimated firm energy deficit is 7,669 GWh/year for 2026 and 2027, and would exceed 10,600 GWh in 2029 and 2030. To follow the system figures, check XM.

For the broader context, read our article on the 2027 rationing risk and how to shield industrial power supply. This one focuses on what happened in late September and on the load shedding plan worth having ready.

Your plant's electrical installation is governed by the Colombian electrical code (RETIE), and switchboards are verified to IEC 61439. Ectricol manufactures low-voltage switchboards, motor control centers and shelters in Funza, and can help you organize your distribution by priority for the load shedding plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is a load shedding plan?

It is the planned, orderly disconnection of electrical loads according to their priority when power is short on the grid or in the plant. Its purpose is to protect critical loads and the process, not to switch things off at random.

Was there energy rationing in Colombia in September 2026?

It never reached a single household. On September 28, 98.5 MW of emergency rationing was scheduled and on the 29th a 330 MW cut was anticipated, but it was avoided through last-minute maneuvers, unplanned thermal plants and lower demand, according to the CNO.

How are loads classified in an industrial load shedding plan?

As critical (never switched off), essential (reduced at the second stage) and deferrable (they go first). The classification depends on the process and is agreed among maintenance, production and safety.

What equipment is needed to automate a load shedding plan?

Motorized breakers or contactors on the feeders, a PLC or frequency or voltage relays, power metering per circuit and a manual backup control, all grouped by priority in low-voltage switchboards or an MCC.

How often should a load shedding plan be tested?

Periodically, and whenever the process, the switchboards or the loads change. Each plant sets the frequency according to its risk; what matters is keeping a record of every test.