Electric power in the Cordelia

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1024289120100210

Paraguay is in the middle of a heat wave and is suffering power outages because their antiquated power lines can't handle the increased loads which have increased 50% over the last 6 years; mainly due to increased use of air conditioners.

President Lugo has decreed decorative lighting at the presidential palace be cut, as a symbolic gesture.

Paraguay's Congress is closed for the summer recess, but lawmakers were summoned on Monday to evaluate granting $60 million to the state power agency ANDE to buy and rent generators.

(ANDE is the national electric company)

IMO the $60 million proposal doesn't deserve consideration.

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ANDE's rate structure is fairly complicated; probably within the realm of reason; and probably a little too cheap.  "Too cheap," I say because they are not maintaining & improving power lines and distribution.

My level of consumption, about 500kwh/month costs about $.095/kwh in Oregon.  In Paraguay it would be about $ .054/kwh.

Below are some electricity price comparisons from around the world,  They are not "really" comparable because they are not all con-current prices.  The quotes are from anywhere in the last 3 years.

Finland!  What a surprise.

Italy?!  Manipulating energy use via taxes?!  Industrial e- in Italy is another matter.  The European Union recently decided they were subsidizing their aluminum smelter....

Taxes are a significant contributor to price.

France's electriciy is 80% nuclear.  The $ .045/kwh 'cost' might be usable as a back-of-envelope cost of nuclear power.


Here are average prices for electricity per kilowatt hour (kwh):
G 1755/kwh Italy
G  492/kwh Peru
G  907/kwh France (G 224 cost + G 783 tax)
G  470/kwh United States
G  330/kwh Canada
G  330/kwh Finland
G  273/kwh Paraguay (2004)
G  256/kwh Paraguay (Dec 2009)


US$ English
$ .37 Italy
$ .10/kwh Peru
$ .19 France ($ .0475 cost + $ .145 tax)
$ .10 United States
$ .07/kwh Canada
$ .07 Finland
$ .058 Paraguay (2004)
$ .054/kwh Paraguay (Dec 2009)


BC, Canada 6.35 cents per kWh, and the Step 2 rate of 8.27 cents per kWh

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Paraguay's ABCdigital has been covering this story and offers reader's comments.  Generally there is a lot of disgust and belief that officials are corrupt; and that corruption is the cause of the problem.

I am not in Paraguay yet.  My understanding is via remote.  I would appreciate opinions on this....

Cheap electricity is one of the biggest plusses for Paraguay; but it has to be delivered, dependable, and continuous.

Also worth noting that in most places power outage = no water as the town pumps rarely have backup generators.

Guide to Paraguay wrote:

Also worth noting that in most places power outage = no water as the town pumps rarely have backup generators.

Nice point.  No electricity is not just a matter of 'life without air conditioning,' it is a matter of water or no water,.... which is to say, "Life and death."

Does the legislature believe backup generators can be bought and installed in a timely manner?

Most of the towns in the interior of Paraguay have only recently (within the last 40 years for large towns like Piribebuy and 10 to 15 for smaller towns)been hooked up to the power grid. Many people still have and use wells and their lifestyles are not as electricity dependent as we are in the US. People still know how to live without constant electricity and running water, partly out of tradition and partly out of necessity.

If you are considering moving to Cordillera or any other non-urban area of Paraguay you need to be prepared to deal with issues such as power outages on a regular basis. The heat wave is exacerbating the problem but this is not uncommon. It is making headlines at the moment because the problems are noticeable in Asuncion. For many people outside of Asuncion loosing power at least once a day in the summer is completely normal.

I enjoy ABCdigital because there are comments from readers.  I don't think the digital newspaper does much in the way of filtering reader's comments.

The commentary regarding the electrical outages seems to be for the purpose of placing blame.

The real question, given the situation, is what to do about it.  The legislature has proposed $60,000,000 for back-up generators.  That is, at least, a proposal to do something.  Surely backup generators are a good thing to have, even if they can not be installed for this crisis.

Considering the difficulty in raising money through taxes or borrowing, it might be better to devote that $60,000 towards repairing and creating redundancy in the existing electrical grid?

abc.com.py/nota/garantias-cortes-de-electricidad-verano/]http://www.abc.com.py/nota/garantias-cortes-de-electricidad-verano

The president of ANDE, Germán Fatecha, told the ministry of mines and energy that they were on the edge of a cliff regarding the possibility of electrical outages this summer and that they are depending on a normal summer.

Although a lot of infrastructure has been constructed, it won't be completed until the summer of 2011-2012.

The last paragraph outlines the schedule of reports to be submitted to the Deputies, which sounds like bureaucratic clogging to my ear...