Emcali
Emcali, with a 43 per cent interest in the project, is the third largest utility in Colombia.
Established in 1955, it is municipally owned. Emcali is the exclusive distributor of electricity,
and the exclusive provider of water, sewer and telephone services to the city of Cali. Before
the TermoEmcali project was completed Emcali had no electric generating facilities. As of the
end of 1996 Emcali had a ‘BBB+’ local and a ‘BBB-’ international credit rating from Standard
& Poor’s, and ‘BBB’ local and international ratings from Duff & Phelps (now Fitch).
In 1996 electricity distribution accounted for 58 per cent of Emcali’s revenues. Of total
electricity sales in 1996, 32 per cent were to industrial customers, 31 per cent to residential
customers, 22 per cent to commercial customers and 15 per cent to other customers. The total number of Emcali’s customers increased from 357,000 in 1992 to 420,000 in 1996. Peak elec-
tricity demand in 1996 was 651 MW.
Emcali reorganised itself in 1997, creating a holding company and four operating sub-
sidiaries for power generation, power distribution, water and sewer services and telephones.
The PPA and TermoEmcali ownership were transferred to the power generation subsidiary,
but obligations under the PPA continued to be covered by joint, and several guarantees of the
holding company and the four operating subsidiaries