The SNE makes official the launch of the National Rural Electrification Plan

This SNE release was published using machine translation.

With the objective of contributing to improving the quality of life of the rural population of Panama through increasing access to sustainable electricity services in rural areas, through efficient use of public resources, the National Secretariat of Energy (SNE), led by Engineer Rosilena Lindo Riggs, presented the National Rural Electrification Plan.

The launch of this project, which has the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Office of Rural Electrification (OER), has as its main challenge to fully close the gap in universal access to energy in 2030. In a phased manner, it also shows how, by taking advantage of natural resources sustainably to generate electricity, 100% of Panamanians will be able to take advantage of electricity to improve their quality of life.

“The launch of the National Electrification Plan of Panama becomes the first public policy instrument that indicates, geo-referenced, year by year, how Panama can achieve universal access to electricity in the year 2030, providing the energy that our Citizens of all communities need to adapt to climate change, with sufficient electricity, without resorting to polluting energy,” said Engineer Lindo.

Energy and the guarantee of having it in an affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern way for everyone by 2030, is the first objective of the National Energy Transition Agenda of Panama (ATE), emphasized the head of the SNE.

Likewise, Rosilena pointed out that, with this Plan, Panama commits to transformative actions to address the triple energy challenge: guarantee access to clean and affordable energy services for all by 2030, accelerate the energy transition, reduce greenhouse gas emissions while Communities adapt to a changing climate, which demands more clean energy to progress as a nation.

Also, he stressed that implementing the National Electrification Plan of Panama requires 779 million dollars in investment in areas without access to electricity; The project has also taken into account the densification of the existing network, for the new population that will settle between now and 2030 in the already electrified areas, which would have an estimated investment cost of 323 million dollars.

For his part, the senior energy specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Arturo Alarcón expressed, “Access to modern energy is an essential element to reduce inequality and provide opportunities for access to education, health, employment and innovation to the entire population. The Plan presented today is a fundamental step, since it shows that it is possible to provide a modern energy service to all Panamanians by 2030, and defines how to do it. It will be necessary to multiply investment in rural electrification, and define regulatory incentives to attract it. The IDB will continue to accompany and support these efforts, since it is one of our priorities.”

In order to carry out this instrument of comprehensive rural development, public-private efforts with adequate financing are necessary, said the IDB specialist.

The presentation of the Plan was led by Waya Energy's electrical engineer, Andrés González García and shows the technical, economic and environmental conditions of this implementation process in rural areas. The Electrification Plan was developed in reference scenarios such as: Emberá-Wounaan, Kuna Yala, Ngäbe Buglé regions, in the provinces of Darién, Herrera, Los Santos, Panamá Oeste and Veraguas.

In addition, it was done taking into account which is the most effective technology to electrify each of these clients and communities, selecting technologies that require a lower investment, operation and maintenance cost, considering the extension of the interconnected network in medium and low voltage. , installing isolated mini-grids or providing individual photovoltaic systems.

The implementation roadmap of the rural electrification plan contains 6 steps focused on the long-term sustainability and evolution of the integrated electrical service inside and outside the grid, among them are: Integrated Geospatial Planning of electrification; Regulation and business models integrated online and offline; Integrated large-scale and sustainable financial plan; Lots of projects and analysis of investments; Project execution and articulation mechanisms; Dashboard and monitoring with universal access.

“The plan is 100% renewable, it is inclusive, it does not want to leave anyone behind and it provides local data, equipment data and user preferences,” said electrical engineer Andrés González.

“Today Panama is becoming a reference point in how to plan for the near future, we are positioning universal access to energy as a key facilitator and driver of an inclusive, sustainable, resilient economic recovery and growth and as an integral part of the transition. Furthermore, the construction of this plan reflects all interested parties, international organizations, multilateral development banks, companies, civil society, scientific communities, cities or regional governments, that together we must intensify and strengthen efforts to promote the energy transition through formation of transformative alliances, putting people at the center of efforts to deliver universal energy,” concluded Engineer Lindo.