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Arias Signs
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Arias Signs
Hydroelectric Water Concessions
Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias has
signed into law a bill that creates a
hydroelectric water concessions framework,
the presidential website reported. The new
framework also allows an extension to the
concession for the same period as long as
all ministry requirements are complied with.
The legislation guarantees private
participation in power generation and gives
the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energia y
Telecommunicaciones (MINAET) - environment,
energy and telecommunications ministry - the
legal authority to award concessions for up
to 25 years, according to the government.
"It is an important and positive signal for
Costa Rica's power sector. This law resolves
the ambiguity or 'legal void' in the
awarding of hydraulic concessions," the
executive director of the country's energy
producers association (Acope), Mario
Alvarado, told BNamericas.
"It does not resolve other power sector
problems as procedural, rate and contracting
issues have yet to be determined, but it is
a fundamental step in the correct
direction," Alvarado said.
According to the industry official, there is
also a need to continue debating a framework
power law to open up the sector to
competition.
The country's generation, transmission and
distribution is dominated by state power
company ICE, which is also the only company
authorized to purchase and export power.
At the end of 2008, private installed
generation capacity, for example, totaled
322MW while the country's total installed
capacity was 2.36GW, according to statistics
from public services regulator , the
Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Publicos (Aresep).
Of the 322MW, 217MW are hydro, 46.2MW wind,
31.4MW thermo and 27.5MW geothermal, the
watchdog said.
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