The institution mentioned among these possible measures a project being discussed by the Legislative Assembly under the name of “Electricity Sector Harmonization Law,” which “opens the space so that the supply of renewable electricity can be increased.”

The CICR expressed “concern at Monday’s announcement by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) about “shortages of resources to meet the demand for electricity. (…) The availability, quality and cost of electricity are fundamental to the functioning of the country and the competitiveness of companies,” the statement said, adding that “demand is growing and the electrical system has to increase investments in generation.”

The bill being debated in Parliament “also seeks to strengthen demand planning in order to take advantage of the generation potential and advance the decarbonization of the economy, but this requires more supply of renewable energy at competitive prices.”

Monday’s news about power outages lasting up to two hours, in a country where generation depends 70 percent on hydroelectric plants, shocked Costa Rican society and filled the main media, especially television, with comments.

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