President Santiago Peña has appointed engineer Miguel Báez Reyes as the new president of Paraguay's state electricity utility, ANDE, replacing Félix Sosa, who had held the position since August 2020. The announcement was made by the president through his social media, describing the change as a step to strengthen the institution, which is strategic for Paraguay's development.
Miguel Báez is a career employee of ANDE, where he served as technical manager before retiring two years ago. In his first press conference, he stated he accepted the invitation out of gratitude for the company that provided all his training and revealed the five main pillars of his management, as defined by Peña: modernize and strengthen the institution, expand infrastructure, diversify power generation, prepare the system to attract investment, and ensure the state-owned company's financial sustainability.
The leadership change occurs in a context of previously reported tensions. The ANDE Workers' Union (Sitrande) stated that Sosa's departure is directly linked to his reluctance to sign an energy supply contract with preferential rates for the British company Atome, which is planning a green fertilizer plant in Villeta. The union's general secretary, Adolfo Villalba, declared that Sosa was replaced because he refused to yield to pressure to grant a fixed rate of $30 per megawatt-hour for 15 years, which, according to the union, would cause a loss of up to $200 million for ANDE.
The government had previously denied that Sosa had resigned. In a social media post after his departure, Sosa thanked the opportunity, wished Báez success, and confirmed he will remain an employee of the state-owned company. On the other hand, opposition lawmaker Raúl Benítez criticized the change, alleging it serves the commercial interests of the presidential circle to subsidize allied companies.
The business sector, represented by the president of the Latin American Business Council (CEAL), Rubén Jacks, welcomed the change, stating that ANDE had become a "bottleneck" for major investment projects. Jacks listed as urgent challenges for the new management the reduction of energy losses (currently 23%, compared to a regional standard of 15%), combating illegal cryptocurrency mining, and reducing arrears, especially those of the national government itself.
The new president of ANDE admitted that there are about 5,000 MW worth of investor projects and inquiries that face obstacles due to a lack of clear regulations. He stated that Peña's instruction is to unblock these processes, but with technical criteria, evaluating each proposal based on the benefit to the country, job creation, and the company's financial sustainability. Báez ruled out tariff increases for residential users and mentioned plans to diversify the energy matrix, including the deployment of solar plants, such as a 140 MW one in the Chaco, and the prospecting for natural gas.