Energy market experts concluded that there was high participation from competitors, a transparent and orderly evaluation was conducted, and the offered prices will benefit the end consumer with lower energy prices. According to the preliminary report of the tender, six generating companies participated: three hydroelectric and three wind, and seven proposals were received, six of which were considered in the evaluation. The preliminary results of the ETESA 01-25 Public Tender process for the long-term contracting of energy from renewable sources will have a positive impact on the national market, representing better rates or lower prices for consumers. The process allowed for the effective participation of hydroelectric and wind companies and resulted in a clear signal of competition, efficiency, and better prospects for the future cost of electricity supply. This result positions it as the cheapest offer in the process, and due to its level of competitiveness, as the historically lowest price offer for long-term tenders linked to new wind farms in Panama. Along with Santa Cruz Wind, the preliminary report also recommends the award of the energy contract to UEP III, S.A., with an average offered price of USD 92.77 per MWh and an assigned energy of 7,257.67 GWh; to Los Naranjos Overseas, S.A., with USD 94.45 per MWh and 1,115.78 GWh assigned; and to Corporación de Energía del Istmo LTD, S.A., with USD 97.50 per MWh and 1,531.14 GWh assigned. This data is especially relevant because the contracting of new renewable energy at competitive prices is one of the clearest paths to moderate the cost of electricity supply in the medium and long term, explained electricity market technicians. One offer was not considered because it exceeded the maximum prices established in the tender, which confirms that the process maintained previously defined technical and economic criteria to safeguard the rationality of the result. The offers were evaluated, and it corresponded to ETESA to issue its opinion based on the best offered price, savings over time, and benefit for consumers at the national level. In line with this, the preliminary results of the ETESA 01-25 allow this tender to be interpreted as a concrete step in the right direction: promoting investment, expanding the supply of clean generation, and creating conditions for a future reduction in electricity tariffs for the benefit of users. The preliminary tender report itself indicates that the level of energy contracting reached an average of approximately 90% of the entire tendered period. This percentage reflects a robust coverage of the energy requirement and shows that the process managed to capture a relevant portion of the projected need, providing greater certainty for system planning. Electricity market technicians also conclude that with the completion of this contracting, Panama will have taken an important step towards a cleaner, more efficient energy matrix with better conditions to contain and reduce the cost of electricity in the coming years. The tender creates an opportunity for Panamanians to have cheap electricity rates. However, it will be up to ASEP to decide on the results of the long-term energy contracting process. Among the evaluated offers, the proposal from Santa Cruz Wind S.A. stands out in the evaluation process. In the energy category, it presented the lowest price of all the offers considered, with a value of USD 70.97 per MWh, and received a total allocation of 5,194.18 GWh over a 20-year period.
