Ministry of Energy begins public consultation process for the Decarbonization Plan

This is an automatic translation of the original release, issued in Spanish

PRESS RELEASE from the Ministry of Energy of Chile
November 8, 2024

This Friday, November 8, the Decarbonization Plan was published on the Ministry of Energy's website for public consultation by all stakeholders in the energy sector and the general public.

This preliminary document outlines a roadmap to achieve an efficient, secure and resilient decarbonized electrical system, which emerged from technical work and strategic dialogue that includes the vision of various actors in the sector. It also considers the regulatory recommendations for decarbonization made by the Institute of Complex Systems for Engineering (ISCI) and was supported by the Inter-American Development Bank ( IDB ).

This Plan seeks to provide the enabling conditions that will allow us to do away with coal and move more rapidly towards a low-carbon electrical system. To this end, it contains 45 specific measures within the framework of 4 axes: (1) Urgent development of energy projects for national decarbonization; (2) Electric transmission as an enabler for carbon neutrality; (3) Safe and flexible short-term operation in a highly renewable electrical system; (4) Strengthening the long-term market and promoting clean electrification of demand.

Among the specific measures contained in this document are different aspects such as: promoting the conversion of thermoelectric power to low-emission fuels; the role of gas as a technology to support the decarbonization process; creation of the concept of strategic transmission works in the understanding of their relevance for the energy transition; among others. The work carried out gives continuity to the commitment established in the first Agreement for the Withdrawal and/or Conversion of Coal-Fired Power Plants, signed between companies and the Government of Chile in 2019. In addition, it responds to the mandate established in the Climate Change Framework Law, published in 2022, and its respective Long-Term Climate Strategy.

The public consultation will be open until December 16, 2024 on the website: https://energia.gob.cl/consultas-publicas/plan-de-descarbonizacon