The II CIER Regional Electricity Integration Workshop was recently concluded in Panama. Representatives from 19 countries came together to discuss increased energy cooperation and the expansion of markets. The event was organised by the CIER Regional Energy Integration Commission in collaboration with GET.transform and support of the CIER Regional Committee for Central America and the Caribbean. More than 50 participants including energy ministers and secretaries; vice ministers; electricity planning, regulation and operation deputies; as well as delegates from the European Union Technical Assistance Facility (EU TAF), Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), UN Economic Commission for Latin America (UN-ECLAC), Organization of American States (OAS), Andean Community of Nations (CAN), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) were in attendance.
The region has made significant progress in electricity integration over the past 15 years. Best practices were shared from the three existing regional interconnection initiatives, namely, the Electrical Interconnection System of Central American Countries (SIEPAC), the Southern Energy Integration System (SIESUR), and the Andean Electrical Interconnection System (SINEA).
Looking ahead, the delegates exchanged on upcoming projects including the Interconnection Colombia – Panama (ICP), the new Ecuador – Peru 500kV circuit, and the Northern Arc project. There is, however, great potential for even more integration. Medardo Cadena, Advisor to the Executive Secretary at OLADE highlighted that only 35% of the interconnection infrastructure capacity was utilised in 2023.
In working groups, participants identified existing bottlenecks for integration and explored how to overcome integration challenges at the policy and regulation, planning, finance, and market level. The event marked the strong commitment to regional energy collaboration and closed with a call to create an inter-institutional working group among the main regional entities.
