The Paraguayan government presented two bills on Thursday proposing the creation of a Ministry of Mines and Energy and an Electricity Sector Regulatory Body. The documents were made available for public consultation after the first meeting of the National Electricity Sector Roundtable, convened by President Santiago Peña and held at the presidential residence Mburuvicha Róga.
The meeting, which lasted more than two and a half hours, brought together representatives from the private sector, academia, renewable energy associations, and independent technicians. Presidential spokesperson Guillermo Grance emphasized that the initiative seeks to strengthen the country's energy institutional framework through open debate with all involved sectors.
Business leaders immediately supported the proposal. Enrique Duarte, president of the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP), stressed that the measure is crucial for attracting public and private investments. "We need to build a reliable energy structure and legal security so that industry can develop," he stated.
Rubén Jacks, from the Latin American Business Council (CEAL), warned about the "institutional bottleneck" preventing national and foreign investments. "Paraguay has excellent investment opportunities, but we are facing a serious problem with energy due to the lack of a regulatory body and a specific ministry," he explained.
Eduardo Viedma, from the Paraguayan Association of Renewable Energies (APER), described the meeting as a long-needed "kickoff." He highlighted that the electricity sector requires urgent attention to ensure predictability in energy generation, transmission, and distribution.
Technical experts present at the debate compared the proposal to the historic transformation of the telecommunications sector after the creation of CONATEL, which attracted over $6.5 billion in investments. They argued that an independent regulator could catalyze similar investments in the energy sector.
The bills will be available for public analysis and contributions before being formally submitted to the National Congress. The National Electricity Sector Roundtable will continue meeting to advance the modernization of Paraguay's energy sector institutional and regulatory framework.