Between the period from March to May 2020 and the same period in 2021, electricity consumption increased by 5%, a rise that can be attributed to the increase in exports and tourism activity.
Data from the National Energy Control Center (Cence) highlights that for the periods under analysis, consumption at the national level went from 2,780 to 2,906 Gigawatt hours (GWh), which is equivalent to an increase of 126 GWh.
Local authorities announced plans to build in the province of Colon the Gatun Generating Station, an energy complex that will operate with liquefied natural gas and will require a $1,000 million investment.
The morning of June 1, President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen explained that this project will require a foreign investment from Group Energy Gas Panama, a consortium formed by InterEnergy Group and AES Panama.
In Nicaragua, the company New Fortress Energy announced that it has already started with the construction works of a natural gas plant, which will have an energy generation capacity of 300 MW and will be located near Puerto Sandino, department of León.
Executives of the North American company stated that the project has begun its decisive phase and according to the schedule, it is expected that between May and June the generating plant will begin operations.
In the context of the health crisis and home quarantine, the average daily consumption in the country is about 18 GWh, which is 25% less than that reported prior to the outbreak of the virus.
Data from the Transaction Unit (TU) indicate that between the levels reported in February and the demand registered from March 23 to April 3, consumption has fallen from 19.6 GWh to 15 GWh on average.
If the quarantine and mobility restriction measures are extended by two months, it is forecast that by the end of the year the annualized demand for electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Central America will have fallen by 4%.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering various scenarios for the coming months.
During the first month of the year, electricity generation in Panama amounted to 975 million kWh, 7.5% more than in the same period of 2019.
According to the most recent data from the General Comptroller of Panama, in the first month of the year 390 million kwh were generated from hydraulic sources, which is equivalent to a 3% increase over the 379 million offered in the same period in 2019.
During January of this year in Panama 90 million gallons of fuel were sold, a figure that is 7% less than that reported in the same month of 2019.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that during the first month of 2020, gasoline consumption in the country, which includes 91 and 95 octanes, fell to 27.9 million gallons, 1.3% more than the 27.5 million gallons registered in January 2019.
Through the creation of four new state-owned companies, President Ortega seeks to control the exploration and exploitation of oil in Nicaragua, as well as the import, storage, distribution and marketing of gas and fuels.
With the approval of the law initiatives, the government seeks to transfer the control that Alba de Nicaragua S.A. used to have in this market. (Albanisa), which was sanctioned by the U.S. because of its links with Petróleos de Venezuela, and Distribuidora Nicaragüense de Petróleo (DNP), which was also sanctioned by the same country, in this case for benefiting the Ortega family with non-competitive contracts.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines approved the Rocja Pontila Central hydroelectric project, which will be built on the Icbolay River in Alta Verapaz and will have an installed capacity of 40 megawatts.
The authorization for the hydroelectric plant owned by Proyecto de Desarrollo Integral Pontila, S.A., was issued in Agreement 019-2020 of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) dated January 13, 2020.
Mainly determined by the performance of the energy supply from thermal sources, between January and November 2018 and the same period in 2019, electricity generation in Panama grew by 3%.
According to the most recent report of the General Comptroller of Panama, 10,173 million kWh were generated in the first eleven months of 2019, which is equivalent to a 3% increase over the 9,877 million kWh offered in the same period in 2018.
From November 20 to 22, the second edition of the Gas and Energy Summit of the Americas will be held in Panama City, where topics related to the financing of energy projects will be discussed.
The second edition of the Gas and Energy Summit of the Americas will combine conferences on strategic topics with high-level government presentations, thematic debates on innovative content, as well as discussion panels for the collective construction of solutions, led by prominent figures from the regional and global energy sector, informed the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI).
The plant was inaugurated on 29 October and forms part of the Bosphorus project, which consists of the commissioning of 10 power generation parks of 10 MW each.
Two decades after selling 49% of the shares of the Bayano hydroelectric dam to AES, the Panamanian government is preparing to begin negotiations to buy the shares held by AES.
The authorization for the government to begin negotiations was completed through Cabinet Council Resolution No.
In Guatemala, the Central American Electric Carrier announced that the works it carries out in sections of the electrical network in Escuintla, Jutiapa, Chiquimula and Santa Rosa, whose global investment reaches $40 million, are about to operate.
Representatives of the company Transportista Eléctrica Centroamericana, S.A. (Trelec), affiliated to Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala, S.A. (EEGSA), explained that the works that are part of the National Transmission Expansion Plan, such as those executed in the section that goes from Guanagazapa, Escuintla, to Pasaco, Jutiapa, have already been concluded and are in the phase of obtaining permits for connection and start operating.
Because of the behavior of the energy supply from thermal sources, between January and May 2018 and the same period in 2019 the generation of electricity in Panama increased 4%.
The latest report of the General Comptroller of Panama, details that in the first five months of 2019 were generated 4,634 million kwh, equivalent to a 3.9% increase over the 4,460 million offered in the same period of 2018.