Works on the Central American Electricity Interconnection System (SIEPAC in Spanish) are reported to be 95% complete, and are expected to be operational in March 2012.
At a cost of $490 million, the interconnection line extends from Guatemala to Panamá, with capacity to transport between 200 and 300 megawatts of electricity.
Teófilo De La Torre, president of the company that owns the network (EPR), stated that "the project will reduce the cost of electricity in the region due to the ability to make sales to other countries, including outside of the region, because Central America became connected with Mexico last year”, reported Notimex.
The electricity sector's authorities have put together a series of concrete actions that should make the regional market a reality by the end of 2011.
During the meeting organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in San Jose, Costa Rica, energy ministers, electrical power generating organizations and regulators from across Central America reaffirmed their commitment to speeding up the process of harmonizing the region's legal frameworks in order to bring about energy integration.