Seminar presents successful experiences of hydroelectric generation and financing facilities

(La Paz, January 31, 2011).- The national authorities of the electricity sector, representatives of multilateral cooperation agencies and international experts participated in the seminar on Methods of Financing Hydroelectric Plants, organized by CAF - Latin American development bank - and the Brazilian Embassy in Bolivia. The objective of the event was to lay the base for long-term planning in the area of hydroelectric generation and make various financing options available to the country.

"The seminar covered a range of positive experiences in long-term planning in the hydroelectric generation sector in Latin American countries, including tasks such as an inventory of potential sources of generation; evaluation of costs, benefits and feasibility of projects; as well as analysis and protection of social and environmental factors, among others. CAF has accumulated experience in the energy area and is currently promoting 105 projects in this field throughout the region. Bolivia - after Venezuela and Colombia - is the third country with most energy projects financed by the institution and has the funds needed to develop hydroelectric projects," Emilio Uquillas, CAF director representative in Bolivia, said.

Uquillas added that for CAF the competitiveness of countries depends to a large extent on a sustainable and reliable supply of energy, and on prices that reflect the opportunity cost of investment, that is, which represent the best alternative from the point view of rates and environmental protection.

Introducing the eight presentations, the minister counselor of the Brazilian Embassy in Bolivia, Carlos França, stressed the importance for all actors in electricity generation to get to know the views and experiences of other Latin American countries.

The vice minister of Electricity and Alternative Energy, Roberto Perez, said the seminar marked a further step in the strengthening process which Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE) had undertaken. Its technical staff now has the opportunity to hear about the experience of hydroelectric mega-projects which were successfully executed in Brazil, Nicaragua and also at binational level, and about the financing facilities which could be most beneficial for the country. "Also, knowing about the legal aspects of the projects will help to implement the new legislation for the electricity sector which we are working on," he said.

Presentations were given by international experts from companies and institutions such as Eletrobras, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Empresa de Pesquisa Energética, and the Group for the Study of the Electricity Sector of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Gesel-UFRJ), along with World Bank representative in the country, Oscar Avalle; senior energy specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Emilio Sawada; and the host Uquillas Emilio, CAF director representative in Bolivia.

The presentations covered experiences in financing energy projects by institutions such as CAF, World Bank, IDB and BNDES; the financial models used for construction of hydroelectric plants (CHE) of Nicaragua and Itaipu Binational (shared by Brazil and Paraguay); studies of hydroelectric resource inventories and auctions and long-term contracts as the basis for financing CHE.