Electrificadora de Santander

La Electrificadora de Santander S.A. (ESSA) has more than 115 years of experience in the Colombian electric sector and is integrated into 4 businesses: generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electric energy.

ESSA has 96.2 percent coverage (99.85% urban and 87.34% rural) with the aim of attending to their clients, the business of transmission and distribution in 66 substations and more than 33,000 kilometers of electrical mains. ESSA has more than 492,500 clients with an average daily consumption of more than 3,000,000 kWh.

Contact Information
ESSA Calle 24 # 18-26 Bucaramanga, Santander Tel: 630-3333 Fax: 633-9767 Toll Free: 018000971903

Company History
On August 30, 1891 at 7:30pm, 30 arched bulbs of 1200 spark plugs, with their sparkles dazzled and began to illuminate the dreams of the present. The Business of Electric Power thus was born, becoming the first to use hydroelectricity for both public lighting and for domestic service, from a generating plant in Chitota, that took advantage of the fall in water level in the Suratá River. By then a generator of constantly running current, special for arch lighting and a turbine motor with a capacity of 300 horse power.

This advancement, located in Santander was the 3rd region of the country after Panama and Bogota to count on electric energy for public and domestic service lighting and was the first to be used for industrial purposes. The cost of the electricity was $2.40 monthly for each lamp used plus a $3.00 charge for the installation. Two years later, the Public Limited Electric Company of Bucaramanga Ltd. and began writing the history of the company and the rise of small societies that supply to the service in different regions. The economic crisis of 1929 let to the fusion of the 2 most significant companies in the department. They reformed and took the name ‘Electric Company of Bucaramanga’ and this fusion opened the doors to new capitals and possibilities of supporting new plants.

In 1941, when the state took political control over the service of electric power, it was transformed into the ‘Hydroelectric of the Lebrija River, which coincided with urbanization of the city of Bucaramanga. In 1974, the fusion of small companies led the name to change to the Electrificadora de Santander S.A.

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Political and Public Influence
August 14, 2007: Unusually the government has put the Electrifícadora of Santander for sale, whose profit value and management are symbolic. The national worry about the privatization of the electric sector is dismissed by the national Government who gives clearance for the sale of stock that it possesses in the electric companies in Boyacá, Santander, Cundinamarca and North Santander and sends off the decrees by means of which the process of delivery to the private sector is initiated.

September 7, 2005: The robbery caused what ESSA evaluated as $800 million pesos of damage, not only because of the loss of electricity to 16 neighborhoods but also the damage to the structure. 

Corporate Accountability
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Human Rights
April 2, 2006: Daniel Cortez Cortez was murdered while he was found working his job as a worker at the Electrifícadora de Santander. 

October 3, 2002: Guardianship action by Jaime Ardila Barrera against the Electrifícadora de Santander S.A.

November 17, 1993: Guardianship action by Edgar Hernando Aranda, Martín Tamayo and Emma Gaona viuda de Angulo against the Electrifícadoras de Santander and Boyocá for the violation of rights to life and property. 

Environment
ESSA is a company leader in electric public service assistance in the national field, offering services of generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization of electricity with a high grade of technology, efficiency, quality and cost-effectiveness.

ESSA works to promote:
 * The fulfillment of environmental norms: to comply with legislation and regulation vigilantly in respect to environmental aspects in their activities
 * Continuous improvement: by means of optimization of the processes, incorporated technology, technical development and the professionalism of human talent, including the environmental variable in every process, to strengthen the environmental culture in every worker and to extend the institutional message of respect for our ecological wealth with the clients.
 * Contamination prevention: to carry out monitors, evaluations and environmental impact control in their processes, oriented in the prevention, mitigation, correction, and compensation for environmental deterioration.
 * Active projects: to develop investigative processes for the potential use of resources, treating waste generated by the service performance and the utilization of clean operations in business negotiations.
 * Self Regulation: the value of socio-environmental impact of their operations and to demand from their suppliers, contractors and workers their rigorous fulfillment of their environmental compromises, establishing effective mechanisms of control of the environmental quality of all of their activities.

Business Scope
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Financial Information (as of DATE)
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Governance
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