Indira Cristina Portocarrero Ospina has been appointed as Director of Colombia’s Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética (UPME), strengthening the State’s technical capacity to address key challenges related to energy security, power system reliability and the country’s energy transition.
An industrial engineer with a master’s degree in Political Studies, Portocarrero brings extensive experience in planning, regulation and territorial analysis within the mining and energy sector. Her professional background combines strong technical expertise with social awareness and a regional perspective that takes into account the specific realities of local communities.
Prior to her appointment, she served as UPME’s Territorial Planning Chief and as Technical Advisor on Planning and Regulation at Colombia’s Ministerio de Minas y Energía, where she contributed to public policy design, interinstitutional coordination and strategic projects related to renewable energy, bioenergy, power transmission and social conflict management linked to energy infrastructure. She currently chairs the Board of Directors of Centrales Eléctricas del Cauca S.A. (Cedelca).
One of her most significant contributions was the technical coordination between the energy regulator CREG, system operator XM, UPME and the Ministry of Mines and Energy. This process enabled the release of 5 gigawatts (GW) of energy capacity, equivalent to 25% of Colombia’s total electricity generation, facilitating the entry of new clean energy projects and improving the reliability of the national power system.
Her career has also been linked to strategic initiatives such as consultancy work aimed at strengthening the State’s role in the regulated electricity market, as well as the integration of technical and socio-environmental criteria in coal mine closure analyses and the development of solar PV projects in the Cesar–Magdalena “life corridor,” within the framework of a just energy transition.
Portocarrero’s appointment reinforces a vision of energy planning that understands energy not only as infrastructure and regulation, but also as territory, people and social equity—reaffirming the Colombian State’s commitment to a more inclusive, sustainable and technically robust energy sector.
