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.
Félix Sosa
Pytagua coverage mentioning Félix Sosa.
The ANDE Workers Union (Sitrande) suspended its protest after Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies postponed the vote on the bill creating the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Hydrocarbons and announced a broad dialogue table with participation from the state utility, government, and lawmakers.
The union of ANDE workers accuses the Paraguayan government of hiding an offer from the company Imperium to buy energy at $70 per MW, more than double the amount negotiated with the company Atome.
Paraguay's state electricity utility ANDE has kept two strategic projects stalled for years: the sale of energy from the Acaray plant to Brazil and the issuance of its own bonds, both without an official completion schedule.
ANDE is conducting studies to define a new technical, unique, and transparent tariff scheme for both industries, based on voltage level, and residences, aiming for the company's financial sustainability.
President Santiago Peña has appointed Miguel Báez Reyes as the head of Paraguay's state electricity utility ANDE, replacing Félix Sosa. The government states the move is intended to unblock investments, but unions and the opposition link it to pressure for a preferential tariff contract with the company Atome.
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.
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.
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.
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.