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.
Yacyretá
The Entidad Binacional Yacyretá (EBY) is the joint Paraguayan-Argentine hydropower entity on the Paraná River. Its treaty framework connects electricity generation with financing, infrastructure, navigation and environmental impacts; decisions are binational and affect both Paraguay’s power supply and relations with Argentina. This dossier gathers Pytagua coverage of generation and expansion, Aña Cuá and other projects, financial and tariff disputes, compensation issues and negotiations between the two countries.
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 and Argentina are studying a $5 billion binational hydropower project on the Paraná River, with 2,880 megawatts of capacity, possible private operation, an estimated six-year construction period and the resettlement of more than 220 families, while financing, environmental impacts and the operating model remain under review.
Itapúa department in Paraguay is preparing to host the 2026 World Rally Championship stage, expecting to surpass the previous edition's attendance, generate temporary jobs, boost local tourism, and implement a comprehensive security plan and naval attractions.
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.
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.
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.
The Paraguayan government is accelerating plans to diversify its energy matrix with natural gas, solar, and wind projects to prevent the depletion of its electricity surplus by 2030.
Opposition Senator Rafael Filizzola criticized the concentration of IPS funds at Ueno Bank and cited other cases that, he said, create an impression of impunity, including proceedings involving Óscar Boidanich, Itaipú and President Santiago Peña’s assets.
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.
Economists assessed that the austerity measures announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will have a marginal impact on Paraguay's public accounts and do not address the structural problems of the fiscal deficit.
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.
Paraguay has revoked the decrees that encouraged electro-intensive industries and strengthened its National Energy Strategy through 2050 to ensure energy security amid growing industrial demand.
MITIC confirmed having reported only two of at least 14 social media accounts linked to the "dirty campaign" against opponents, journalists, and media outlets critical of the Santiago Peña government, a response lawmakers investigating the case deemed insufficient.
Data from the National Cadastre Service in 2019 reveal that rural land registered in Paraguay totals 654,861 km²—about 270,000 km² more than the country's officially recognized territorial area of 406,752 km²—reigniting the debate over title overlaps, historical surveying errors, and irregularly acquired lands.
The Argentine provinces of Corrientes and Chaco have declared a temporary ban on all forms of surubí fishing in a shared stretch of the Paraná River, aiming to protect the species during a period of mass aggregation of fish. The Paraná River forms the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, which is of major importance to Paraguay's trade and ecology.
The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, publicly asked Google not to set up operations in Paraguay during the inauguration of the company's engineering center in the São Paulo capital, amid a regional dispute over attracting data center and artificial intelligence investments, driven by the abundance of cheap Paraguayan hydroelectric power from Itaipu and Yacyretá.