In July 2023, 51 technical offers were submitted to participate in the Energy and Power Tender PEG-4-2022 to seek bids with a maximum power of 1505.3 MW and a minimum power of 978.87 MW, both guaranteed, to award 235 MW of guaranteed power as an efficient firm offer to cover the demand for a term of up to 15 years. 40 MW will be awarded in additional generated energy contracts to the 235 MW and 40 MW will be awarded to geothermal energy projects.
In August, the reverse auction was held, where bidders participated in the rounds in order to be awarded according to the power, term and technology presented for the bidding. Of the total technical offers submitted, 16 projects were awarded, of which 10 were for renewable energy, in distribution contracts with load curve equivalent to a capacity of 114.3 MW and 101 MW under the purchase option contract modality, and in non-renewable technologies 123.07 MW under the purchase option contract modality.
For the 40 MW of generated energy contracts, two solar projects were awarded, for such capacity, with prices of US$20.32 and US$26.66 MW/h, which is a very competitive price for this type of technology.
The bidding processes that the distributors have organized and that the National Energy Commission has approved, have been examples of success in which investors trust and that have benefited the end user of energy, having stable prices and being one of the most important sectors for the development of a country.
The development of energy projects, both renewable and non-renewable, remained suspended due to the lack of long-term tenders. This situation changed because with this tender there were opportunities to resume the projects and be able to compete to be awarded with a long-term contract.
The lack of these new energy projects, or equipment technology conversions, caused Guatemala to have high energy prices. As if this were not enough, the El Niño phenomenon that affected the Central American region increased the impact of these prices.
As a result of this lack of development in these projects, the installation of rooftop solar panels under a self-generation scheme has been generated at an industrial level to mitigate the variability of energy prices, mainly due to the price of fuels,
The goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been advancing and many companies have acquired commitments aligned with these goals, so developing the energy matrix with renewable technologies will help these companies to be not only more competitive but also to contribute to the goals of the SDGs.
Continuing with long-term tenders is the way to ensure a stable energy supply in relation to prices, using a diversified and renewed energy matrix to promote development with mainly renewable energy sources and with prices that can be competitive for the industry, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Let us continue on this path to have cleaner energy, generating important sources of jobs, not only in generation, but also in the sectors where it is necessary to have reliable and efficient energy.