ANDE, Paraguay's state electricity utility, has begun a socioeconomic census to determine financial compensation for 165 landowners affected by the easement for the new Valenzuela-Guarambaré transmission line, a 70-km project financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that will cross five municipalities.
Administración Nacional de Electricidad
ANDE is Paraguay's state electricity utility. It operates much of the power grid and is central to debates about tariffs, investment, and the use of Paraguay's hydropower.
Paraguay has initiated talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to establish the foundations for a nuclear energy program, aiming to diversify its energy matrix, which is currently dominated by hydropower.
British company Atome is seeking an agreement with Paraguay's state electricity utility ANDE to resolve the impasse over the energy contract and unlock its fertilizer plant in Villeta, a project financed and supported by international institutions that promises to generate thousands of jobs.
Paraguay has executed only 34.3% of the $602.3 million in bilateral loans for public works, leaving $395.7 million unused.
IPS President Isaías Fretes discovered hospital equipment valued at $20 million abandoned and unused at the Central Hospital, prompting the opening of audits and the possibility of reports to the Public Ministry for alleged damage to public property.
Trading in shares of Atome PLC was suspended on the London Stock Exchange due to a delay in publishing its financial statements, caused by ongoing negotiations with Paraguay's state electricity utility, ANDE, over the power contract for its green fertilizer project in Villeta.
The Atome project, which plans hydrogen production in Paraguay using energy subsidized by the National Electricity Administration (ANDE, Paraguay's state utility), could cost public coffers $1.6 billion over 15 years, reduce jobs, and threaten the country's energy sovereignty, according to criticisms by energy expert Ricardo Canese.
ANDE has formally rejected Atome PLC's request for a preferential electricity tariff in Paraguay, after a technical and financial analysis concluded that it was not feasible to grant the fixed dollarized tariff of US$30 per MWh sought by the British company.
The dismantling of the high-voltage towers on Asunción's North Waterfront has entered its final stage, with completion expected by July 24, as part of the undergrounding of nearly 3 km of transmission lines and the Urban Resilience Project in the Coastal Strip.
An agreement to supply electricity to Atome's fertilizer plant in Villeta at a preferential rate of $30 per MWh could result in a $750 million loss for Paraguay and ANDE over 15 years.
The ANDE Engineers Union proposed limiting the consumption of electro-intensive industries in Paraguay, such as data centers and artificial intelligence projects, to 700 MW in order to preserve the country's energy security and avoid compromising strategic resources in the medium and long term.
Brazilian companies are interested in building solar plants and small hydroelectric facilities in Paraguay, taking advantage of the new legal framework that allows the sale of electricity in the country, both to ANDE and through private agreements.
Paraguay is facing an imminent energy crisis due to a 21% increase in electricity consumption in the first four months of the year, a delay of about two years in ANDE's Master Works Plan, and an investment deficit, which currently stands at $340 million annually compared to the $900 million needed per decade, potentially exhausting the energy surplus from Itaipú and Yacyretá by 2029.
Ricardo Canese criticized President Santiago Peña for granting subsidies to electro-intensive companies that generate 433 times fewer jobs per megawatt than Paraguayan MSMEs.
Victorio Oxilia warns that electricity rates below ANDE’s actual cost for energy-intensive industries could jeopardize the finances of the Paraguayan state utility.
Atome PLC has finalized a $665 million investment to build a green fertilizer plant in Villeta, Paraguay, contingent upon the approval of a preferential electricity tariff by ANDE to ensure the project's financial viability.
The Paraguayan government defended the preferential rate of US$30 per MWh granted to the company Atome for green fertilizer production, arguing that the figure is justified by operational efficiency and low transmission losses, while the ANDE workers' union and experts criticized the measure and pointed to regulatory weaknesses in the electricity sector.
Four ANDE unions have filed an unconstitutionality lawsuit against presidential decrees 5306, 5307, and their amendments 5860 and 5861, signed by President Santiago Peña. They claim the measures would cause significant financial harm to the state electricity utility — which manages Paraguay's share of the binational Itaipú dam — and result in a 15-year subsidy to a business group involved in crypto mining, data centers, and hydrogen production, with the cost passed on to the public through electricity rates.
ANDE held a public virtual hearing on the international tender for the construction of a 140 MW photovoltaic solar plant in Loma Plata, in the Paraguayan Chaco, with more than 380 participants, including companies from Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.
Itaipú transfers to Paraguay fell 12.53% in the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, totaling $205,265,900, with the steepest drop in the Energy Cession Compensation, which declined 34.15%, while royalties fell 1.13% and benefits to ANDE rose 1.51%.
ANDE's low electricity tariffs, among the cheapest in the world, are preventing the growth of residential solar energy in Paraguay, making the injection of surplus power into the grid financially unattractive in the short term.
The Paraguayan justice system sentenced Rodrigo Sebastián Tamarasco to two years of effective imprisonment and the confiscation of equipment for stealing electricity from ANDE to conduct illegal cryptocurrency mining in Ciudad del Este, causing losses of approximately 381 thousand dollars.
Electrical expert Guillermo Krauch said that electricity consumption in Paraguay is growing far above forecasts by the National Electricity Administration, bringing forward by two years the point where availability and real demand intersect.
The regulation of the Non-Conventional Renewable Energy Law defines four categories for private participation in electricity generation, but the lack of clarity on grid wheeling charges and the need to pay new producers are expected to affect the price paid by residential consumers.