The Union of ANDE Workers (Sitrande) denounced that the Paraguayan government allegedly concealed a formal offer from the U.S. artificial intelligence company Imperium to buy energy at $70 per megawatt (MW). The amount is more than double the $30 per MW that, according to the union, are being negotiated to benefit the company Atome, which is linked to former officials.
The general secretary of Sitrande, Adolfo Villalba, stated that Imperium's proposal was formally presented on July 1 and projected annual revenue of approximately $174 million for the state electricity utility, including the five-year financial advance of the contract. The initial request was for a capacity of 300 MW, equivalent to nearly half the capacity of one turbine at the Itaipu plant.
Villalba declared that the President of the Republic is aware of the offer and that the president of ANDE himself, Miguel Ángel Báez Reyes, committed to presenting the case at the meeting of the National Electricity Sector Board, but the topic was not included on the agenda. "We were not invited to the Energy Board because we would have asked about this publicly," said the leader, suggesting that the proposal was deliberately shelved.
Imperium's representative in Paraguay, Aníbal Lovera, detailed that negotiations with the government began in February, going through the Presidency and the Ministry of Information and Technology (Mitic), before being forwarded to ANDE. He reported that the agreement was ready to be signed with the then-president of the state company, Félix Sosa, but the process was frozen with Sosa's sudden departure at the end of July. The offer was reiterated on July 27, with no response.
Lovera stated that the company offers guarantees of 5% to 10% and is willing to participate in a public tender to ensure transparency. Imperium's project plans the installation of data centers in Valenzuela, taking advantage of the Itaipu and Yacyretá transmission node, with a promise to begin operations within 90 days after signing.
Critics of the administration, such as the vice president of CUT-A, José Pineda, accuse the Executive of having no real interest in improving ANDE's revenue, pointing to the connections of Atome's executive director, James Spalding, a former director of Itaipu. For the union, the maneuver aims to block fresh resources for the state company and allocate the energy block to specific private groups.