Chancellor Alberto Van Klaveren; Minister of Finance Mario Marcel; Minister of Energy Diego Pardow; and Undersecretary of International Economic Relations Claudia Sanhueza, led a meeting with ambassadors, trade representatives, business entities, and international organizations to inform them about the details of the government’s actions to drive the energy transition process and achieve the goal of a fully renewable energy matrix.
Among the measures presented, the prompt submission of the Energy Transition Bill to Congress was highlighted, which includes short and medium-term actions. According to the authorities, this initiative will incorporate two highly relevant measures for the sector: a modification in the tariff revenue reallocation system and the tendering of a large-scale energy storage system in the northern part of the country, one of the announcements made by the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric, in his recent State of the Nation Address.
Minister Diego Pardow emphasized that this meeting demonstrates the current administration’s priority of promoting renewable energies. “The energy sector is key to achieving carbon neutrality in our country. And this bill, presented today to ambassadors, trade unions, and multilateral organizations, reflects that objective. That’s why, as a government, we wanted to explain and provide details of the bill in order to provide certainty for current and future investments in the energy decarbonization process, promoting urgent and precise actions to drive this second phase of the energy transition,” he stated.
Minister of Finance Mario Marcel highlighted that the shift in the energy matrix towards renewable energies is essential for the country’s sustainable economic development, as “we have been accustomed to seeing ourselves as a country dependent on the importation of hydrocarbons, and today we have the possibility of being practically self-sufficient in generating energy from renewable sources in the not-too-distant future. As a government, we understand that this issue is very important, and together with other ministries that have been concerned with realizing investments and resolving problems arising from the various authorizations required along the way, we will be available to collaborate.”
Other progress
During the meeting, other advancements of the Initial Agenda for the Second Phase of the Energy Transition, led by the Ministry of Energy, were announced. These include the adjustment of the emissions tax compensation system, which involved the elimination of the so-called “Type B Compensation” that renewable energy companies were subject to.
Additionally, the modernization of the regulated customer supply bidding processes was finalized, with preliminary guidelines being issued in May. The technical minimum requirements for thermal power plants were also reviewed and adjusted in line with emissions standard updates. Furthermore, the National Energy Commission (CNE) opened an Open Season period for the development of urgent transmission system works, which was extended due to the interest expressed by participating stakeholders.
Source: Renewable energy