Energy Losses

Fourteen of Honduras's twenty electrical circuits with the highest losses are concentrated in the Sula Valley, together accounting for 2.09 billion lempiras in the first half of 2026, a problem experts say must be tackled as a priority to stabilize the national power system.

In the first six months of 2026, Cortés—Honduras's industrial heartland—lost 3.5 billion lempiras (about $140 million) to electricity theft, equipment losses, and technical faults, representing nearly 40% of the nation's 8.8 billion lempira total energy loss.

Honduras's Supreme Audit Court found that the state power utility ENEE redirected about 2 billion lempiras (roughly $80 million) intended for a national program to reduce electrical losses, preventing the purchase of equipment and services needed to meet its efficiency targets in 2023–24.

State power utility ENEE accumulated a L11.2 billion (about $450 million) deficit in the first seven months of 2026, with energy theft and illegal connections accounting for roughly 75% of losses, according to a civil-society analysis presented to energy regulators and Congress.

Honduras's power utility ENEE loses more than L17 billion (about $680 million) annually to technical inefficiencies and electricity theft, representing 35% of total output; Congress is advancing reforms to reorganize ENEE into subsidiary units for generation, transmission, and distribution, strengthen the regulatory commission, and establish an independent market operator.