QCOSTARICA – With the aim of lowering electricity rates, President Rodrigo Chaves, signed a decree that authorizes the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) – State utility – to purchase energy from private generators with a current public service concession and that have been without a contract.
“With this, the government seeks to boost the economy in the areas where the private generating plants that will be reactivated after years of being with the key closed will operate,” said Chaves.
And it is that with this event the country is preparing to provide 100% renewable electricity service.
“Now we will have the opportunity to better prepare ourselves to meet the energy needs of the summer with clean and national sources,” said Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE.
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In addition, it would be possible to purchase energy with more competitive rates than using thermal sources, added Acuña.
Finally, for Franz Tattenbach Capra, Minister of Environment and Energy, he said that “this important decision provides greater security and confidence to the private investor in terms of electricity in Costa Rica.
Last month, the regulatory authority, Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (ARESEP), approved a 30.3% reduction in the cost of electricity generation for the last quarter of the year (October 1 and December 31, 2022), which will result in a decrease in rates for subscribers, due to the placement of energy surpluses in the Regional Electricity Market.