Biography:
Sebastian Ruales is the co-founder of Bia Energy, a Colombian startup.
Bia enables businesses to access smarter energy consumption analytics, simplified billing, and more transparent access to renewables. In 2023, the company raised a $16.5M Series A round. It serves over 3,500 clients, in 250+ cities.
Prior to Bia, Sebastian was part of the founding team at Rappi, Colombia’s first unicorn.
Certain legislative changes ushered in Bia’s opportunity. How so?
One needs to understand where Bia sits in the energy value chain. We’re an energy retailer. Simply put: we’re the company that deals with clients directly. We install meters, handle billing, manage customer service, and ensure reliable consumption data.
For decades, Colombia’s energy incumbents did essentially nothing on the retail front. Customers received a bill, paid it, and never thought about it twice. One of our initial challenges was making Colombians understand that they could change their energy retailer in the first place.
Although Colombia opened the energy retail market to competition over 20 years ago, incumbents had no incentive to take action. Why disturb customers who—by inertia—kept paying on time?
That’s the gap Bia seized. We built a modern, customer-obsessed energy retailer that gives businesses real visibility: advanced analytics, smart digital billing, and renewable energy certificates. It’s the first time businesses in Colombia see energy as something they can manage, not just endure.
RO insights: the difference between 'energy' and 'electricity'
For readers new to the energy space, it’s important to differentiate between the terms “energy” and “electricity”.
Here’s how Romain Serres, co-founder of French energy startup Tilt Energy, explains how electricity is one way to use energy:
“A country has energy needs (for industry, mobility, appliances…) for which it taps multiple energy sources. These sources include fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil), as well as nuclear, renewables…
Within that energy consumption, France has seen a rise in electricity use, via consumer-led switches such as petrol-fueled to electric vehicles, or gas boilers to heat pumps. In 2023, electricity made up around 27% of France’s energy consumption. This is important in the fight against climate change, because the vast majority of electricity is produced by low-carbon energy sources (in France, that’s majority nuclear, followed by renewables).”
Excerpt from Tilt: optimizing France’s electricity grid, originally published in The Realistic Optimist
Bia buys energy, which it resells to customers. How does “buying energy” work?