The MOPC has opened a tender for the first phase of the Eco-Inclusive District, which calls for about 320 homes, urban infrastructure and family resettlement in Asunción’s Chacarita and Las Mercedes areas.
Administración Nacional de Electricidad
The Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE) is Paraguay’s state electricity utility and the central actor in transmission, distribution, grid expansion and tariffs. Because the country’s power system is dominated by hydropower, ANDE connects household and business service directly with Itaipú, Yacyretá, network investment and the pace of demand growth. This dossier gathers Pytagua coverage of bills and tariffs as well as reliability, expansion projects, reform proposals and the use of Paraguay’s electricity surplus.
The British company and Paraguay’s state power utility disagree over energy pricing for a fertiliser plant in Villeta. Termination is due to take effect at the end of 2026; September 30 was a deadline for an addendum or bank guarantee.
Javier Giménez said he sees no conflict in relation to Juan Pablo Nogués Peña’s Conacyt role or if Atome takes a dispute with the state to international forums.
Araico proposes paying ANDE US$45 per MWh for its AI center in Yguazú—50% above Paraguay’s industrial rate and far more than Brazil pays for Itaipu power—while the company’s director warns that delays could send data centers to Brazil.
Decrees signed by Santiago Peña set hydrogen tariffs of US$30 to US$32 per MWh, close to the US$30 requested by Atome. The company’s manager, Juan Pablo Nogués Peña, is the president’s cousin and represented the Ministry of Industry on Conacyt; the documents examined do not prove that he influenced the decisions.
A lack of agreement with ANDE on electricity supply and tariff predictability has stalled Atome’s green fertilizer project, which was seeking to raise $700 million and could create up to 1,000 jobs, while the company considers pursuing international arbitration.
Paraguay has US$1,627.7 million in external financing for infrastructure, sanitation, energy and development, spread across operations at different stages of approval and administration. The amounts are not actual disbursements and should not be interpreted as entirely available for immediate implementation.
Paraguay's state electricity utility, ANDE, has set September 30, 2026, as the deadline for Atome to define its operations in Villeta and presented a $2.34 billion budget for 2027. The proposal includes an 11% reduction in overall resources and allocates $956 million to energy purchases, primarily from Itaipu.
Former ANDE president Félix Sosa has challenged Atome’s position in the dispute over its $665 million Villeta project. He says the power contract signed in 2022 contains neither the later 2026 decrees nor a fixed preferential electricity price, and that any change would have required an addendum signed by both parties. Sosa therefore sees no contractual basis for a claim against ANDE. A separate question remains, however, over whether Atome can pursue claims against Paraguay under the UK–Paraguay investment treaty.
Santiago Peña began a 10-day trip to Venezuela and the United States to try to restore relations with Caracas, address Petropar’s debt of about $300 million to PDVSA and seek investment in New York, while Isaías Fretes was appointed health minister after leaving the IPS board of directors.
ATOME notified Paraguay of its intention to take to arbitration a $665 million dispute over its green-fertilizer project in Villa Elisa after negotiations with ANDE broke down over a 15-year contract and a $30/MWh tariff, while Sitrande cited the Imperium alternative to ABC Color at $70/MWh and the government argued that generation costs could reach $50/MWh in 2043; backed by commitments from institutions including IDB Invest, IFC, the European Investment Bank and the Green Climate Fund, as well as a 10-year contract with Yara, the project could lead to an arbitration claim after 90 days of consultations, although the losses estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars come from an independent assessment and are not a formal claim.
An agreement between the Paraguayan government and unions providing for a 5% salary increase in 2027 reduced the national teachers’ strike, but divided the organizations and kept groups seeking 8% mobilized before some of them suspended the action.
The National Police and ANDE seized 25 cryptocurrency-mining machines from a residence in Ciudad del Este after residents reported intense noise, and the case was referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce launched MIC MAP, a platform that integrates territorial, productive, logistics, energy, social and trade data from across Paraguay to guide public policy, investment and productive planning.
Sitrande will step up protests against plans to create a Ministry of Energy, Mining and Hydrocarbons and an Energy Regulatory Authority, demanding guarantees from Santiago Peña’s government as negotiations over Itaipú’s 2027 tariff move forward.
Itaipu Binacional transferred US$310 million to Paraguay in the first eight months of 2026 for royalties, energy transfers and ANDE investments, bringing transfers since August 2023 to US$1.532 billion to finance the public budget, school meals, construction and electrical infrastructure.
ANDE is preparing its first tender to purchase 140 MW of solar power from a private plant in Loma Plata, with an estimated investment of US$100 million and connection to the National Interconnected System.
The Paraguayan government is negotiating $1.3 billion in loans with CAF, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and JICA for infrastructure, energy and logistics projects, with $700 million earmarked for the Ministry of Public Works and Communications.
Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office asked the courts to annul 144 demonstrably forged teaching diplomas and subsequently cancel the professional registrations linked to them. The investigation covers 525 suspicious documents and could hold beneficiaries, institutions and public officials involved accountable.
ANDE has halted negotiations with ATOME to supply power to the green hydrogen and fertilizer plant in Villeta, deeming it unsustainable to maintain the proposed fixed tariff for 15 years, while Sitrande challenges the state utility’s reorganization and warns of risks to the electricity sector.
Paraguay discusses reform of state-owned ANDE and risk of energy deficit by 2032, with proposals including splitting the company into multiple corporations and creating a regulatory body, while experts warn of delays in projects and rising demand.
Electricity consumption in Paraguay grew 18.2% in the first seven months of 2026, straining the system and leading ANDE to accelerate infrastructure projects, while the new Puerto Esperanza power plant marks the beginning of solar energy integration into the national grid.
An ABC Color investigation reports that a Singapore company less than a year old with an opaque structure offered $70 per MW to ANDE, more than double the price negotiated with Atome. The report identifies inconsistencies in the documentation and questions about the company’s investment capacity.
The Paraguayan government presented bills to create a Ministry of Mines and Energy and an electricity sector regulatory body, with broad private sector support viewing the measure as crucial for attracting investments.