Electricity supply and demand
Installed capacity and generation
Paraguay is the only country in Latin America with almost 100 percent hydroelectric generation capacity (8,116 MW) in 2005. [2]
Paraguay operates two binational hydroelectric dams. Itaipu dam, by far the largest power station in the country, is operated with Brazil and has an installed capacity of 7000 MW (86 percent of Paraguay's generation capacity). Yacyretá, the second largest hydroelectric facility, has an installed capacity of 900 MW (11 percent), and is operated with Argentina. A third plant, Acaray has an installed capacity of 210 MW (3 percent). Thermal plants contribute less than 0.1 percent. [3]
All of Paraguay's electricity for domestic consumption comes from a single facility, the binational 14 GW Itaipu hydroelectric dam. [1]
| Source | Installed capacity (MW) | Installed capacity (% of total) |
|---|
| Itaipu | 7,000 | 86% |
| Yacyretá | 900 | 11% |
| Acaray | 210 | 3% |
| Thermal | 6 | 0.1% |
| TOTAL | 8,116 | 100.1% |
|---|
Source: ESMAP, 2006. Installed capacity shown for Itaipu and Yacyretá refers only to the Parguayan share in these plants.
While total generation amounted to 51.17 TWh in 2005, consumption was only 5.01 TWh, with exports as high as 43.8 TWh. [4]
Demand
In 2005, total electricity consumed in Paraguay was 5.01 TWh, which corresponds to 849 kWh per capita. [4] Electricity generated by Itaipu and Acaray, located in the East of the country, is transported to the West (to the Asunción area), where over 60% of the total national consumption is located. [3]
Electricity consumption by consumer group is divided as follows: [3]
- Residential: 41%
- Commercial: 18.3%
- Industrial: 26%
- Others: 14.2%
In 2004, the country consumed only 16% of its 50% share of Itaipu's production, exporting the rest to Brazil. As for Yacyreta, Paraguay consumes less than 1% of its share, exporting the rest to Argentina. [1]
The electricity interconnections that allow power exchanges with Brazil and Argentina are:
| Entities | Country | Supply point | Voltage (kV) | Power (MW) |
|---|
| FURNAS, ELECTROSUL, ELECTROBRAS | Brazil | Itaipu | 500 | 7,000 |
| EBISA | Argentina | Yacyretá | 500 | 1,540 |
| ENERSUL | Brazil | Pedro Juan Caballero | 23 | 3 |
| COPEL | Brazil | Acaray | 132 | 50 |
| EMSA | Argentina | C.A. López | 132 | 30 |
| TRANSNEA/EDEFOR | Argentina | Guarambaré | 220 | 80 |
Source: ESMAP, 2006
Access to electricity
In 2005, almost 90% of the population in Paraguay had access to electricity, which is just slightly below than the 94.6% average for LAC [5]
The 2002 Census revealed that 87% of the households without electricity were located in rural areas, where access was about 77%. Rural coverage varies considerably among the different regions of the country. It is lowest in the remote and sparsely populated Chaco, or Western region. [6] The table below shows rural coverage by Department for 2002:
See also:Departments of Paraguay (including a map)
| Department/region | Rural households with electricity(%) |
|---|
| Concepción | 68 |
| San Pedro | 78 |
| Cordillera | 86 |
| Guairá | 87 |
| Caaguazú | 78 |
| Caazapá | 68 |
| Itaipuá | 81 |
| Misiones | 79 |
| Paraguarí | 82 |
| Alto Paraná | 82 |
| Central | 93 |
| Ñeembucú | 62 |
| Amambay | 43 |
| Canindeyú | 58 |
| Average Eastern Region | 78 |
|---|
| Presidente Hayes | 51 |
| Boquerón | 57 |
| Alto Paraguay | 29 |
| Average Western Region | 46 |
|---|
| National Average | 77 |
|---|
Source: Pulfer, 2005 (from 2002 Census)
Since 2004, the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) has been carrying out a Program to Recover Distribution Works under the Self-Help System (Sistema de Autoayuda), which aims at the regularization of all the low and medium voltage distribution networks. This program, with a 10-year time-horizon, is implemented according to priorities defined by the conservation status of the networks involved. Under this program, installations that do not comply with current ANDE's rules are replaced. [3]
Responsibilities in the electricity sector
Responsibilities in the Paraguayan electricity sector are concentrated in a single, vertically integrated public monopoly, the National Electricity Administration (Administración Nacional de Electricidad, ANDE).
Policy and regulation
Law 167/93 indicates that the Vice ministry of Mines and Energy (under the Ministry of Public Works and Communication) is responsible for establishing and guiding energy policy, as well as for the study of the technical, economic, financial and legal aspects that promote energy use. However, the Vice ministry does not have the adequate resources to effectively perform its functions. [7]
In practice, all the energy responsibilities are concentrated in ANDE, which is the de facto electricity regulator and provider. ANDE also elaborates the tariff structure, which is then analyzed and approved by the Economic Council of the Executive Power. The Council usually sets lower tariffs to the ones proposed by ANDE, which leads to a lack of resources for the necessary investment for adequate performance of the electricity system. [3]
Generation, transmission and distribution
ANDE controls the country's entire electricity market, including generation, transmission and distribution. ANDE operates only one hydroelectric dam, Acaray, and six thermal power plants, with total installed capacity of 220 MW. It is also responsible for Paraguay's share of Itaipú and Yacyretá, the two bi-national hydroelectric facilities (See bi-national facilities above).
ANDE operates 3,400 kilometres (2,100 mi) of transmission lines in the Interconnected National System, divided in 6 subsystems, and 1,080 kilometres (670 mi) of distribution lines. [1] It is also responsible for all of the distribution, with two exceptions: CLYFSA (Compañía de Luz y Fuerza, S.A.), which has a concession to distribute and commercialize electricity in Villarrica, and the Empresas Distribuidoras Menonitas del Chaco Central. [3]
The economy of Paraguay is a market economy that is highly dependent on agriculture products. In recent years, Paraguay's economy has grown as a result of increased agricultural exports, especially soybeans. Paraguay has the economic advantages of a young population and vast hydroelectric power. Its disadvantages include the few available mineral resources, and political instability. The government welcomes foreign investment.
The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.
The Yacyretá Dam or Jasyretâ-Apipé Hydroelectric Power Station is a dam and hydroelectric power plant built over the waterfalls of Jasyretâ-Apipé in the Paraná River, between the Paraguayan City of Ayolas and the Argentine Province of Corrientes. The dam is named for Yacyretá Island just upstream, much of which the dam submerged. The word "Yacyreta" is the Hispanicized spelling of the original Guaraní term Jasyretâ.
Brazil is the 7th largest energy consumer in the world and the largest in South America. At the same time, it is an important oil and gas producer in the region and the world's second largest ethanol fuel producer. The government agencies responsible for energy policy are the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE), the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) and the National Agency of Electricity (ANEEL). State-owned companies Petrobras and Eletrobras are the major players in Brazil's energy sector, as well as Latin America's.
The electricity sector in Honduras has been shaped by the dominance of a vertically integrated utility; an incomplete attempt in the early 1990s to reform the sector; the increasing share of thermal generation over the past two decades; the poor financial health of the state utility Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE); the high technical and commercial losses in transmission and distribution; and the low electric coverage in rural areas
The electricity sector in Colombia is dominated by large hydropower generation (65%) and thermal generation (35%). Despite the country's large potential for new renewable energy technologies, this potential has been barely tapped. A 2001 law designed to promote alternative energies lacks certain key provisions to achieve this objective, such as feed-in tariffs, and has had little impact so far. Large hydropower and thermal plants dominate the current expansion plans. The construction of a transmission line with Panama, which will link Colombia with Central America, is underway.
The electricity sector in Bolivia is dominated by the state-owned ENDE Corporation, although the private Bolivian Power Company is also a major producer of electricity. ENDE had been unbundled into generation, transmission and distribution and privatized in the 1990s, but most of the sector was re-nationalized in 2010 (generation) and 2012.
The electricity sector in Argentina constitutes the third largest power market in Latin America. It relies mostly on thermal generation and hydropower generation (36%). The prevailing natural gas-fired thermal generation is at risk due to the uncertainty about future gas supply.
As of August 2020 Chile had diverse sources of electric power: for the National Electric System, providing over 99% of the county's electric power, hydropower represented around 26.7% of its installed capacity, biomass 1.8%, wind power 8.8%, solar 12.1%, geothermal 0.2%, natural gas 18.9%, coal 20.3%, and petroleum-based capacity 11.3%. Prior to that time, faced with natural gas shortages, Chile began in 2007 to build its first liquefied natural gas terminal and re-gasification plant at Quintero near the capital city of Santiago to secure supply for its existing and upcoming gas-fired thermal plants. In addition, it had engaged in the construction of several new hydropower and coal-fired thermal plants. But by July 2020 91% of the new capacity under construction was of renewable power, 46.8% of the total solar and 25.6% wind, with most of the remainder hydro.
The electricity sector in Peru has experienced large improvements in the past 15 years. Access to electricity has increased from 45% in 1990 to 96.4% in 2018, while service quality and efficiency of service provision improved. These improvements were made possible through privatizations following reforms initiated in 1992. At the same time, electricity tariffs have remained in line with the average for Latin America.
Nicaragua is the country in Central America with the lowest electricity generation, as well as the lowest percentage of population with access to electricity. The unbundling and privatization process of the 1990s did not achieve the expected objectives, resulting in very little generation capacity added to the system. This, together with its high dependence on oil for electricity generation, led to an energy crisis in 2006 from which the country has not fully recovered yet.
El Salvador's energy sector is largerly focused on renewables. El Salvador is the largest producer of geothermal energy in Central America. Except for hydroelectric generation, which is almost totally owned and operated by the public company CEL, the rest of the generation capacity is in private hands. With demand expected to grow at a rate of 5% in the coming years, the Government's 2007 National Energy Strategy identified several hydroelectric and geothermal projects as the best option to meet demand in the future and to diversify the country's energy mix.
The largely government owned electricity sector in Haiti referred to as Électricité d'Haïti (ED'H for "Haiti Electric Utility", faced a deep crisis characterized by dramatic shortages and the lowest coverage of electricity in the Western Hemisphere in 2006. with only about 38.5% of the population having regular access to electricity. In addition, Haiti's large share of thermal generation makes the country especially vulnerable to rising and unstable oil prices.
The power sector in the Dominican Republic has traditionally been, and still is, a bottleneck to the country's economic growth. A prolonged electricity crisis and ineffective remedial measures have led to a vicious cycle of regular blackouts, high operating costs of the distribution companies, large losses including electricity theft through illegal connections, high retail tariffs to cover these inefficiencies, low bill collection rates, a significant fiscal burden for the government through direct and indirect subsidies, and very high costs for consumers as many of them have to rely on expensive alternative self-generated electricity. According to the World Bank, the revitalization of the Dominican economy depends greatly on a sound reform of the sector.
Brazil has the largest electricity sector in Latin America. Its capacity at the end of 2021 was 181,532 MW. The installed capacity grew from 11,000 MW in 1970 with an average yearly growth of 5.8% per year. Brazil has the largest capacity for water storage in the world, being dependent on hydroelectricity generation capacity, which meets over 60% of its electricity demand. The national grid runs at 60 Hz and is powered 83% from renewable sources. This dependence on hydropower makes Brazil vulnerable to power supply shortages in drought years, as was demonstrated by the 2001–2002 energy crisis.
The electricity sector in Guyana is dominated by Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the state-owned vertically integrated utility. Although the country has a large potential for hydroelectric and bagasse-fueled power generation, most of its 226 MW of installed capacity correspond to thermoelectric diesel-engine driven generators.
Electricity in Paraguay comes almost entirely from hydropower. As Paraguay is landlocked and has no significant natural gas reserves, its citizens often burn firewood which contributes to deforestation. The government imports fuel to use, and state-owned Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) has a monopoly on all crude oil and petroleum product sales and imports in Paraguay. It operates Paraguay's sole refinery, the 7,500 bbl/d (1,190 m3/d) Villa Elisa facility.
There is a large array of stakeholders that provide services through electricity generation, transmission, distribution and marketing for industrial, commercial, public and residential customers in the United States. It also includes many public institutions that regulate the sector. In 1996, there were 3,195 electric utilities in the United States, of which fewer than 1,000 were engaged in power generation. This leaves a large number of mostly smaller utilities engaged only in power distribution. There were also 65 power marketers. Of all utilities, 2,020 were publicly owned, 932 were rural electric cooperatives, and 243 were investor-owned utilities. The electricity transmission network is controlled by Independent System Operators or Regional Transmission Organizations, which are not-for-profit organizations that are obliged to provide indiscriminate access to various suppliers to promote competition.
The electricity sector of Uruguay has traditionally been based on domestic hydropower along with thermal power plants, and reliant on imports from Argentina and Brazil at times of peak demand. Over the last 10 years, investments in renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power allowed the country to cover in early 2016 94.5% of its electricity needs with renewable energy sources.
The electricity sector in Switzerland relies mainly on hydroelectricity, since the Alps cover almost two-thirds of the country's land mass, providing many large mountain lakes and artificial reservoirs suited for hydro power. In addition, the water masses drained from the Swiss Alps are intensively used by run-of-the-river hydroelectricity (ROR). With 9,052 kWh per person in 2008, the country's electricity consumption is relatively high and was 22% above the European Union's average.
