Energy Reform

A National Party congressman says proposed reforms to Honduras's energy law aim to rescue the state utility ENEE from financial collapse—it loses about 1.5 billion lempiras monthly—and denies the measure includes privatization, calling reports of a selloff false.

Edgar Aguilar of the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) says proposed reforms to rescue the state power company ENEE lack fundamental components, while the ASJ has separately presented its own proposals to restructure ENEE's debt and reduce its financial burden.

A think tank says Honduras's state power utility loses about 15 billion lempiras (roughly $600 million) a year, blamed on political interference rather than operational needs, as Congress debates an overhaul bill opposed by some lawmakers who fear weakening the company's market role.

Amparo Canales, former president of Honduras's College of Economists, says energy reforms will require foreign investment and must avoid politicization, while improving the state power company ENEE's efficiency and protecting its assets from privatization.

Congress suspended debate on a proposed energy modernization law after the Liberal Party and social sectors demanded more time and transparency, citing concerns over potential rate increases and the future of the state electricity company ENEE.

Congress and the state power company agreed Thursday to resolve chronic blackouts and transmission failures in Choluteca and Valle departments within 15 days, with over 30 crews working on distribution and transmission substations to implement technical fixes.

José Azcona, a Liberal Party engineer and former congressman, argues that the government's proposed restructuring of the state power utility into three private-market companies would effectively privatize the electricity market and raise costs for poor consumers, though he says ENEE can be rescued without direct privatization.

Marvin Ponce alleged Wednesday that five Liberal Party members of Congress are demanding bribes in exchange for votes on energy reforms aimed at reducing electricity theft and restructuring the state utility into three separate entities.

The Asfura administration briefed leaders of the Evangelical Confraternity of Honduras on its proposed energy-sector restructuring bill; Criterio.hn, a critical outlet, reports that opponents argue the measure amounts to privatization of ENEE and would ultimately drive up electricity prices for consumers.

Honduras's human-rights committee supports the government's electricity reforms but is pressing for legal guarantees that the state-owned national power utility will not be privatized and that benefits reach all sectors, as Congress prepares to vote on the overhaul this week.

The National Congress could convene next week to approve reforms to overhaul Honduras's troubled state electricity utility ENEE, with backers claiming support from 65+ lawmakers and backing from international lenders seeking to stabilize the company's finances and reduce nationwide blackouts.

Gerardo Salgado, an adviser to Congress's Energy Commission, also serves on the board of the Honduran Renewable Energy Association, which is pushing Congress to include microgrids and macrogrids in the upcoming electricity-sector reform—provisions not in the commission's original draft but potentially to be added during final debate.

The opposition Partido Libre warns that proposed reforms to Honduras's electrical system would lead to the privatization of the state utility ENEE and threaten its existence.

Congress says it has secured the 65 votes needed to approve electricity-sector reforms aimed at modernizing the system and addressing ENEE's mounting losses—about 1.5 billion lempiras monthly—while rejecting opposition claims the measures would privatize the state utility.

Local authorities and small and medium-sized businesses in western Honduras called for approval of electricity-sector reforms, saying constant blackouts cause up to 100 million lempiras (about $4 million) in monthly losses.

Attorney Omar Menjívar argues that a bipartisan electrical-sector reform advancing in Congress would leave the state-owned utility ENEE intact but progressively transfer control of power service delivery to private companies, citing the precedent of Hondutel's decline after losing core telecom functions to private providers.

The Liberal Party's Congress members say they secured a clause prohibiting direct and indirect privatization of Honduras's national electricity utility, though they continue to raise concerns about sector competition, tariff reduction, energy theft, and the company's debt relief plan.

A study by the Honduran private-sector council found that blackouts and electrical interruptions cost businesses approximately L1.2 billion (about $48 million) a year, with small firms hit hardest, as the government pushes energy-sector reforms.

The Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce called for structural reforms to Honduras's electricity system, saying chronic outages and service failures at the state utility ENEE are harming businesses and threatening the country's competitiveness.

Edgar Aguilar, an energy analyst at the ASJ (Foundation for the Study of Applied Law), says the National Congress's failure to advance an energy reform bill poses a direct fiscal risk to Honduras as the state utility ENEE continues to post multimillion-lempira losses.

The US Embassy welcomes the Asfura administration's push to reform Honduras's electricity law, saying the changes would attract US investment, boost economic growth, strengthen energy security, and improve reliable and affordable power access for Hondurans.

The Liberal Party's congressional bloc said it will not support a reform to the state power utility (ENEE) unless the proposal explicitly guarantees the company will not be privatized.

Congress opened a first reading of an 18-article bill to reorganize Honduras's electrical system, with stated aims to lower costs, improve service, reduce blackouts, and keep state utility ENEE in public hands.

Pending congressional reforms to Honduras's electric sector guarantee that ENEE employees will retain their union affiliation and benefits even after the state utility is restructured into separate generation, distribution, and transmission companies, and explicitly reject any privatization.

Members of the Libre party blocked an entrance to Congress and staged protests against proposed energy reforms set for first debate, with the party's congressional leader Ronald Panchame saying they oppose privatization of the state utility ENEE.

Salomón Ordóñez, the former head of state utility ENEE, says Honduras faces losing competitiveness in Central America unless it tackles two decades of governance failures in its electricity system, citing Guatemala and El Salvador's successful power-sector overhauls.

A Congressional energy commission is drafting reforms to modernize the state-owned power utility ENEE through internal reorganization of transmission, distribution, and billing operations, while ruling out privatization and pledging to protect worker job security.

Finance Vice Minister Lilian Rivera said international lending institutions' backing for state utility ENEE reforms could create opportunities for future financing to strengthen and modernize Honduras's power sector.

The European Union's ambassador to Honduras endorsed proposed reforms to the country's electric industry law, saying the model mirrors European approaches and would improve service while lowering tariffs through renewable-energy incentives.

A banking and finance expert says reforming Honduras's electric system could help recover over 16 billion lempiras ($640 million) in losses and reduce the fiscal burden on the national power company, which has weakened since 1990.