The Paraguayan government has announced plans to send two bills to the National Congress aimed at a major restructuring of the country’s energy sector. President Santiago Peña confirmed that the executive branch will propose the creation of a new Ministry of Mines and Energy and an independent regulatory body for the electricity market.
The announcement followed a meeting of the National Electricity Sector Roundtable, a forum that brought together government officials, energy sector experts, and representatives from Paraguayan industry. The proposed legislation will be made available for public analysis and debate by specialists before being formally submitted to lawmakers.
“A long-awaited structural reform”
Presidential spokesman Guillermo Grance detailed the government’s collaborative approach. He stated that the texts of both bills would be shared to allow for review and discussion among experts.
“What the Government of Paraguay and President Santiago Peña seek with his vision of a ‘Giant Paraguay’ is for everyone to contribute,” said Grance. “We are talking about building a country with strong institutions, with strong legal instruments, so that this ‘Giant Paraguay’ can be sustained and built.”
The move is being hailed as the most significant change to the sector in over six decades. Guillermo López Flores, a former director of the Yacyretá Binational Entity, affirmed that the proposal represents the first structural reform of the electricity sector since Law 966 was enacted 62 years ago. That law created the National Electricity Administration (Administración Nacional de Electricidad or ANDE) and organised the national market.
“This is the first structural change; there have been small cosmetic changes but this is structural, it is complex, but it is necessary to begin,” said López Flores.
Industry and experts “welcome initiative”
Private sector representatives and technical experts, according to government sources, have responded positively to the announcement, viewing it as a crucial step towards modernising the country’s energy framework. Eduardo Viedma of the Paraguayan Renewable Energy Association described the bills as the “initial kick-off of something that has been needed for a long time” in Paraguay.
“We believe it is the mechanism for Paraguay to be predictable in the coming years with respect to the generation, distribution, and transmission of electrical energy,” Viedma stated. This sentiment was echoed by engineer Fabián Cáceres, a former technical manager at ANDE and a prominent energy expert.
Strengthening institutional foundations
The creation of a dedicated ministry is seen as a key component of the reform. Victorio Oxilia, an academic with extensive experience in the Latin American energy sector and a former Executive Secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), celebrated the proposed institutional strengthening. He noted that a Ministry of Mines and Energy would allow for a more strategic and systemic approach to the sector.
Oxilia, who holds a PhD in Energy and is a professor at the National University of Asunción, explained that such a ministry would enable energy to be addressed from both the supply and demand perspectives. “The creation of a ministry of this type will establish those policy regulations for the entire energy sector,” he said. “From academia, we accompany this process and are also available to support in what corresponds to us and in what is necessary.”
Also read: Paraguay Opens Renewable Energy Market To Private Investment.
