Central America Set To Partially Integrate Electricity Network

摘要

An ongoing effort by Central American countries to connect their electricity grids by mid-2010 could make gas-fired power plants and LNG infrastructure more economically viable in the region. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama are cooperating on a $494 million project known as Siepac to build two 230-kilovolt power lines, one traversing the isthmus from southern Guatemala to western Panama, and a shorter one connecting central Guatemala to Honduras. The 1,789 kilometers of power lines would have an initial capacity of 300 megawatts, which might later be doubled. The project was initially mooted in the mid-1990s but stalled partly because national regulators have been reluctant to cede sovereignty. It's now nearly complete.