Although the income generated by transmission companies represents only 10% of the total revenue collected by companies in the electricity sector, recent research has shown the importance of a properly regulated transmission system in promoting competition between companies generators and in the opening of said market.
54-energy-problems-in-peru-1For this reason, the objective of the document is to analyze the two fundamental aspects of the electricity transmission system: the pricing of the transmission service and the mechanisms for expanding the transmission offer. To this end, the recent concessions under the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) contract modality and the privatization scheme of Etecen (Empresa Transmisora de Energía del Norte) and Etesur (Empresa Transmisora de Energía del Sur) are analyzed. The analysis of these processes will
allow to identify the problems of the Peruvian regulatory framework and extract some policy lessons.
Electricity pricing and expansion have been studied from different perspectives in each country. It should be noted that the document analyzes, for the first time, the Peruvian electricity problem from the economic point of view, using concepts from the theory of natural monopolies, the approach of the marginalist regulation theory applied to the electricity sector, the relevant international experiences and recent advances
Theoretical framework
- The electricity sector is divided into four activities: The first is power generation, carried out through hydroelectric and thermal power plants. The second activity is transmission: generators inject their energy into the main transmission system through secondary systems. The third is transmission. The activity is distribution, which is responsible for bringing energy to public service consumers. Finally, marketing is considered an independent activity from distribution, although in many cases it is carried out by distribution companies.