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.
Itaipú
Itaipú Binacional is the hydropower entity jointly owned by Paraguay and Brazil on the Paraná River and one of the pillars of Paraguay’s electricity system. For Paraguay, the issue is not only generated power but also tariffs, royalties, compensation, ANDE, investment and treaty rules negotiated between the two countries. This dossier gathers Pytagua coverage of electricity production, financial transfers, treaty and tariff questions, bilateral negotiations and the domestic use of funds linked to Itaipú.
Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to consider a bill raising the maximum penalty for false reports about acts considered crimes from five to six years and providing for economic compensation.
The Paraguayan Air Force has added a Cessna SkyCourier C-408 funded by Itaipu for aeromedical evacuations, humanitarian missions, and passenger and cargo transport, including on short runways and in remote areas.
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.
When the Itaipú reservoir was filled in 1982, Paraguay’s Operativo Mymba Kuéra recovered 27,150 wild animals; the BBC reports around 11,000 more on the Brazilian side. The operation was remarkable, but it could mitigate only part of the damage: the new reservoir flooded about 1,350 square kilometres, submerged the Saltos del Guairá and permanently altered habitats and fish communities. Historical sources even disagree on the total number of animals rescued.
Itaipu is keeping its spillway open after flow rose 61%, from 1,735 to about 2,800 m³/s, a change attributed by the binational entity to upstream rainfall and demand from interconnected systems. Technicians explained the alternation between spillway channels, while Silver Guerrero told Radio Nacional that operations could change depending on rainfall, with minimal impact on riverside residents for now, normal generation and tourist visits available.
Itaipu opened its spillway on Sunday to release excess water and control the reservoir level after increased rainfall, with the flow reaching 3,100 m³/s and no impact on electricity supplies to Brazil and Paraguay.
Paraguay fell in reading and science in PISA 2025 and ranked 11th among 13 Latin American countries. The results fueled debate over the digital administration of the test, screen use and artificial intelligence, and education policies such as the Ñe’ēry program; Minister Luis Ramírez said he would explain the results at a press conference on Friday.
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.
Economist Gladys Benegas proposes expanding the review of Paraguay’s Fiscal Responsibility Law to measure unexecuted spending, the cost of idle public liquidity and returns on financial investments, citing Argentine funds with low execution and resources invested in Treasury securities.
Paraguay and Taiwan are planning a binational artificial intelligence data center in Chaco’i, based on a model similar to Itaipu and presented by the Paraguayan government as intended to become the world’s largest AI center. The project’s final capacity is planned at up to 1,000 MW, with an estimated initial investment of US$200 million to US$300 million.
Decree No. 6,692, signed by Santiago Peña, authorizes the transfer for consideration of a military property spanning more than 9 hectares at Km 8 in Ciudad del Este to the Ministry of Health to build the Gran Hospital de Alto Paraná. Itaipú will fully finance the physical works, initially planned to have 204 inpatient beds and 56 intensive care beds.
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'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.
Works on the return viaduct over Silvio Pettirossi Avenue, part of the Las Residentas Road Corridor duplication, advance with beam assembly and will require traffic diversions starting August 15, while parallel diversions in the area will occur between August 10 and 30 for drainage works.
An Ecuadorian business group, formed by Novacero and Holding Swissôtel, will invest $200 million in Paraguay for a hotel complex and to transform an acquired steel distributor into an industrial unit, attracted by economic growth, investment promotion laws, and cheap energy.
The government of Santiago Peña spent over US$ 22 million on advertising through Itaipú, which defends the expenditures, while Petropar plans to bid out promotional items like bags and uniforms, and lawmakers propose redirecting such funds to healthcare.
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.
The cost of the Bioceanic Route bridge connecting Carmelo Peralta in Paraguay to Puerto Murtinho in Brazil has increased by $11.5 million during the project's construction, which is funded by Itaipu Binacional.
The Finance Committee of the Paraguayan Senate halted a project that would redirect communication funds to healthcare and postponed for 15 days the analysis of a budget increase to pay off the sector's debts.
The government of Santiago Peña used funds from Itaipú and Yacyretá to finance an advertising campaign in allied media outlets during the World Cup, according to a complaint by Senator Yolanda Paredes.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested the dismissal of the complaint against the Paraguayan director of Itaipú Binacional regarding the purchase of school furniture, having found no evidence of irregularities, although the case continues to generate public debate.
Former Itaipú director Gladys Benegas points out that regulatory failures, such as the overlapping functions of the state utility ANDE and a lack of tariff predictability, are hindering private investment in Paraguay's energy sector.