Government
Proposes To Open Competition In Electrical
Energy Production
The government on Wednesday laid out its
plan to break the Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) monopoly on electricity,
introducing the Ley General de Electricidad
which allows competition in the market.
The initiative by the Poder Judicial
(Executive Branch) arrived at the
Legislature last Thursday which contemplates
a market regulated with the creation of the
Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN), under the
watchful eyes of the Autoridad
Administradora del Mercado (AAM).
The two new powers would be above all
electrical energy generators in the country,
including ICE.
The approval of the initiative would thus
allow a regulated competition by both
private and public companies in the field of
electrical power generation, effectively
breaking the ICE monopoly.
The objective of the initiative is to also
introduce regulations in a market that
currently has none, a market controlled by
ICE which allows only temporary concessions
to private operators to contribute to the
supply of energy produced by ICE.
The initiative would also promoted the
production of "renewable" energy production
and protect the national parks from the
exploitation of geothermal energy
production.
The government proposal would be effectively
not change anything in the distribution of
electrical energy, as the Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and the
current electricaly energy distributors
would continue as is.
Currenlty ICE provides electrical power
directly to customers throughout the country
and in the Central Valley trough its
subsidiary, the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza
y Luz. ICE also sells electrical energy for
resale to distributors like the Junta
Administradora del Servicio Eléctrico de
Cartago (Jasec) that provides electrical
power in Cartago and the Empresa de
Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH) in
Heredia.
ICE also has a deal with a number of
co-operatives like the Coopeguanacaste,
Coopealfaro Ruiz and Coopelesca in the
Northern zone and Coopesantos in Los Santos
(Tarrazú, León Cortés and Dota) in the
southern zone.
The new law only allow competition in the
production of electrical energy and not the
distribution.
However the initiative has a long way to go
before it can become law and doubtful that
it will be approved before the end of term
of the Arias administration and will be up
to the next government to see it through. |
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