Energy & Utilities

With demand for power estimated to grow around 7.5% per year until 2016 and maintaining annual averages of 5.6% in the following 10 years, managing the balance between demand and supply is a key concern for Panama. In other utility segments, such as water, rising consumption levels are exposing decades-long underinvestment in infrastructure networks. As a result, ambitious investment plans – from both public and private sources – are being rolled out across the utility spectrum. Meanwhile, commercial oil finds in the country’s south-eastern region have led to a preliminary set of rules and regulations to govern oil extraction in years to come. Plans for the diversification of the energy mix include renewables such as wind, solar and biofuel facilities, while the country also seems eager to expand other resources such as gas and, to a lesser extent, coal. This chapter features an interview with Fernando Marciscano, General Manager, Empresa de Transmision Electrica Panamena.