Managing an Electricity Shortfall : A Guide for Policy Makers
Economic growth in Central America has increased rapidly over the past 20 years. Currently, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the six Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama ave...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000386194_20110721004657 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2999 |
| Summary: | Economic growth in Central America has
increased rapidly over the past 20 years. Currently, the
gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the six Central
American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama averages approximately
US$3,600. However, masked behind this average figure is a
Sub region of 40 million people with a wide variety of
income, where more than half of the population lives in
poverty. Energy in general and electricity specifically are
critical for economic development. Electricity is needed to
power the machinery that supports income-generating
opportunities. Capital (both domestic and foreign) is
attracted to countries that are able to offer an affordable,
reliable source of electricity for businesses. Although the
individual electricity markets of Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are not large,
together the six countries collectively generated nearly 38
Terawatt-hours (TWh) of power, equivalent to around 70
percent of the annual electricity supply of a medium-sized
country in Latin America. The World Bank has undertaken a
series of studies to better understand the energy challenges
facing these six Central American countries that are to be
joined by Sistema de Interconexion Electrica para America
Central (SIEPAC) and to identify actions to promote the
sound development of the sector. These studies have been
prepared by a team of policy experts, engineers and
economists as part of an integrated series entitled the
Central America programmatic energy studies, with a primary
focus on the electricity subsector. The initial phase of
this programmatic series includes three modules. The first
module is general issues and options; second module is
managing an electricity shortfall; and the third module is
structure and regulatory challenges. This particular
document, the managing an electricity shortfall module,
provides a framework for action and a broad menu of options
available to policy makers to bridge a supply-demand gap in
the short- to medium-term. |
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