In Costa Rica, the state-owned electricity company ICE is evaluating the renegotiation of prices and conditions in power purchase contracts with private generation companies.
The adjustments planned by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) in contracts with private generators are based on the need to reduce costs and adapt prices and quantities purchased to current demand conditions and the availability of resources to generate energy.
Because of the behavior of the energy supply from renewable sources, between 2017 and 2018 electricity generation increased by 2%.
The latest report of the General Comptroller of Panama, details that in 2018 were generated 10,783 million kwh, which is equivalent to a 1.8% increase over the 10,597 million offered in 2017.
In 2017, electric energyexports totaled $103 million, 104% more than was sold in 2017, reversing the falls registered in the two previous years.
According to figures from the Banco de Guatemala, over the past year the country sold abroad a monthly average $8.5 million worth of electricity, with the Central American region being the main destination market.
The National Electric Power Company of Honduras has received 18 bids in the tender to supply 820 MW of firm capacity and associated energy.
Authorities at the National Electric Energy Company (ENEE) detailed that the companies who won contracts will be announced before the end of the year.The objective is to contract out 820 MW of firm capacity and itsassociatedenergydivided into four sub-blocks, for the period from January 27, 2018 to January 27, 2028.
It has been estimated that $200 million need to be invested in Central American countries to strengthen the transmission capacity of the regional electricity market.
A study prepared at the request of the Wholesale Market Manager of Guatemala (AMM) details that for the regional market to operate in a comprehensive way, countries must invest more in order to improve transmission capacity.According to Edgar Navarro, president of the AMM, this investment should be concentrated in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
The new entity, attached to the Economic Development Cabinet, will be in charge of the development and supervision of the electricity market strategy.
The entity will be in charge of the formulation, planning and execution of the strategies and policies of the electricity sector, as well as the integration with the regional electricity market.
The National Interconnected System Expansion Plan for the period 2017-2031 will be put to public consultation until August 31.
The Expansion Plan for the 2017-2031 National Interconnected System was prepared by Etesa and will be available for public consultation until August 31.
In Panama a bill has been put to public consultation that establishes a legal framework for developing the activity of importing natural gas, its storage, local distribution and re-export.
The bill declares the promotion and development of the provision of a public natural gas service in the country to be of public and national interest.The import, export and re-export of natural gas are declared as activities of general interest.
The Energy Secretariat has recommended that Etesa conduct a short-term tender to contract power and energy, to start supply in 2018.
In a resolution published by the Energy Secretariat, Etesa it was recommended that tender documents be drawn up to tender the contracting of power and / or energy to cover the contracting obligations for electricity distribution companies.
The proportion of energy generated from renewable sources increased from 27% of the total energy generated in the country in 2006, to 53% in 2016.
An annual report by the Nicaraguan Institute of Energy (INE) states that net generation in 2016 at the national level increased by 11.4%, going from 4,220.91 GWh in 2015 to 4,700.7 GWh in 2016.The plants that generate clean energy contributed 52.8% of this energy and the remaining 47% was supplied by plants that use fossil fuels.
The amount that the state-owned electricity company plans to spend this year in the purchase of energy from private generators is 30% higher than in 2016.
The estimate of what needs to be allocated for purchasing energy from private generators in 2017 amounts to $243 million, and will be the highest amount spent so far by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) in this area.
After suspending two power supply contracts with Bocas del Toro Energía and Coal Power, Etesa has announced that before the end of the year it will hire other generators to supply the 300 MW.
The contract with Bocas del Toro Energía, which included the Brazilian company Odebrecht, was canceled by mutual agreement, after the revelation of the corruption scandals in which the Brazilian company was involved.This energy supply contract was for 150 MW and the project had not yet started development.