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The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has presented a comprehensive development plan (Plan de desarrollo integral) for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, dubbed the Central American «Marshall Plan» and aimed at developing those countries to limit emigration.

The plan aims at consolidating the power interconnection systems of Central American countries (SIEPAC) for a total investment of US$165m and at promoting its interconnection with Mexico for an estimated investment of US$300m. It also aims at diversifying energy mixes by focusing on local and renewable energy sources, at improving cooperation in terms of energy efficiency and regulations, and at lowering energy prices.

The plan promotes the development of regional gas infrastructures, including a gas terminal in Puerto Cortes in Honduras and its related 300 MW gas-fired power plant (total cost of US$1.2bn) and the construction of a 600 km-long gas pipeline between southern Mexico and Central America to deliver excess gas from North America and to lower prices. The proposed gas pipeline would connect Coatzcoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico to Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast in Mexico. It would then follow the Pacific coast to Puerto Chapas (Mexico), San Jose (Guatemala), Acajutla (Salvador) and San Lorenzo (Honduras), before turning north to San Pedro Sula on the Honduras’ Carribean coast.

French and Portuguese energy groups Engie and EDP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a 50-50 joint venture (JV) focused on fixed and floating offshore wind by the end of 2019. …

Italian energy group Enel has expressed interest for the two power distribution companies that US-based gas and power utility Sempra Energy is selling in Chile and Peru. The group could propose a takeover bid before mid-2019. …

The Ministry of Energy of South Africa has ordered the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to start licensing 500 MW of small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) projects without the project developer having to request an authorisation from the Ministry for deviation from the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) (2010-2030).

According to Eurostat, residential energy prices continued to increase between the second half of 2017 and the second half of 2018, by 3.5% for electricity to an average of €21.1c/kWh and by 5.7% for gas to an average of €6.7c/kWh. …

The Ministry of Electricity of Egypt has announced that it would raise electricity prices by 14.9% in the fiscal year 2019-2020 starting in July 2019. Prices for electricity consumers connected to the high-voltage network (industrial users) will rise by around 10%, while prices for lower voltage consumers – such as households and businesses – will increase by around 19%. …

According to a study released by CCEE, EPE and ONS, electricity consumption on the Brazilian national power interconnected system is forecast to rise by 3.4% in 2019, thanks to a strong increase in residential electricity consumption (+4.1%); electricity demand should increase by 2.3% in industry, by 4% in services and by 3.9% in other sectors.

German energy group E.ON is preparing to a complete switch to electric cars and the group has carried out a study on the required power network investments.

The consortium developing the 1,800 MW Hamriyah CCGT power project in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), namely Sumitomo, Shikoku Electric, GE and Sharjah Asset Management (SAM, the investment arm of the government of Sharjah), has achieved financial close thanks to a US$1bn financing from private banks and from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

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