Central America power watch

Panama’s public services regulator Asep has, for reasons of force majeure, exempted power distributors Edemet, Edechi and ENSA from having to publish tariffs for the second half until June 30.

“Taking into account the variations in the price of oil derivatives, which have had an upward trend in the first half of 2021 and the variability of the costs of the occasional market, taking into account that a tender has not yet been made to complete the purchase to supply the necessary generation for the second half of 2021, it is considered that a more complex analysis will be required,” the watchdog said in a resolution.

The distributors are normally obligated to report proposed tariffs to the regulator and publish the planned updates at least twice in local papers, at least 60 days in advance.

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Guatemala’s power regulator CNEE reported “slight variations” in tariffs for final users this quarter.

The watchdog attributed the adjustments to an increase in spot market purchases by distributors due to reduced hydroelectric generation during summer, higher inflation, and the impact of an increase in international fuel prices.

CNEE said the country’s expansion of generation capacity driven by public tenders in the last decade has helped mitigate the impact of those variables.

The social tariff benefits some 2.8mn families or 94% of users.

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EOR, the operator of Central America’s Siepac power grid, published a regulatory proposal to improve the administration and operation in the scheduling of maintenance for the regional transmission network.