In Panama, the possibility of developing the Fourth Line of Electric Transmission is being analyzed under the parameters established by the Public-Private Association bill.
The public procurement process that was declared void at the beginning of the year was that the company winning the contest would have to make an investment with its resources to then operate the Fourth Line and thus recover the investment. The plan contemplated that it would later transfer the operations to Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica (Etesa).
The state lacks the funds needed to keep power plants operating.
The way some of the country's hydroelectric plants have been handled has led to an increase in rumors about a possible "informal" privatization of Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE).
"The case is illustrated by an agreement that the former manager of Enee Roberto Martinez signed with the company PHP, which allowed PHP to generate four to six megawatts in parallel with the state run power station El Níspero, which has a plant that generates 22.5 megawatts."
They request a law that promotes public-private investment and to migrate the energy matrix towards cleaner and cheaper sources.
Both issues were requested by representatives of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep) during a meeting with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "We are not only interested in the topic of changing the (generation) matrix, but also in the importance of producing energy which is cheaper and more competitive," said Cosep's president, José Adán Aguerri.
A new wind farm and the expansion of the International Airport of El Salvador, are the first two projects to be conducted under this system.
"Today (yesterday) I called a meeting with the president of CEPA (Autonomous Executive Port Commission) and CEL (Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River) to immediately structure the first two projects: the expansion of the international airport and the wind project which the CEL is working with," said Alexander Segovia, Technical Secretary of the Presidency.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad’s high levels of debt has forced it to look for a partner in order to finance its large hydroelectric project of 650MW, El Diquís.
After reviewing the financial report of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), which reveals very high debt levels, the government of Costa Rica has recommended that the authorities of the energy body look for allies, partners or other investors, for financing their projects, among which is the high volume, large hydroelectric construction project El Diquís in the southern region.
Thanks to a recent reform, the National Electricity Transmission Company (Enatrel) of Nicaragua can form associations with private companies for future optic network extensions.
As a step towards modernizing the electrical system and networking in the country, the Nicaraguan National Assembly has recently approved an amendment to Law 583, Law Creating the National Electricity Transmission Company (Enatrel).
The way that the government handles the arbitration failure at the International Chamber of Commerce on the La Geo case could dictate the success or failure of state-business partnerships.
The private-public scheme has been promoted recently by the Salvadoran government for the implementation of large public infrastructure projects because they can free the state from the significant investments that such works require.
The agreement will facilitate the provision of consulting services to regional governments to develop infrastructure projects with private participation.
This agreement seeks initiatives in renewable energy and other projects related to climate change, water treatment and solid waste management, health, education and transport.
Proponents argue that public-private partnerships allow the private sector to participate in improving public services while providing investment expertise.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has since late 2010 a set of rules which allow partnerships with private entities outside the general rules of government contracting.
Characterized by the vertical structure of its activities in the electricity market the Costa Rican Electricity Institute now has the flexibility to partner with private companies, allowing it to have a competitive advantages that could not be achieved individually in the short term."