The new tender for approximately 600 MW announced by Honduras has begun its regulatory process. The National Electric Energy Company (ENEE) has requested the Electric Energy Regulatory Commission (CREE) to draft the terms of reference and, in parallel, is working on the guidelines that will govern the bidding process.
The process will be short-term, with a planned duration of five years , as confirmed by Leonardo Deras , commissioner of the CREE. Strategic Energy .
The next milestone will arrive quickly. “The deadline for the bases, studies, and short-term approvals is this month of October,” he specified.
The method used for this call for bids is already contemplated in Honduran regulations. Since March 2025, Article 35 of the Regulations of the General Law of the Electricity Industry has allowed for short-term international tenders when 100% of the requirements for the following year, including the reserve margin, are not met, and sets the maximum contract period at five years .
The procedure also establishes specific timeframes. Once the CREE notifies the terms of reference, the Bidding Committee has up to 30 days to submit the tender specifications , and the regulator has another 15 days to approve them or request modifications . Once approved, the call for tenders must be published within a maximum of ten days.
The need to strengthen contracting is also reflected in system projections. The 2026-2035 Indicative Generation Expansion Plan estimates that available firm capacity will decrease from 2053 MW in 2027 to 2004 MW in 2028 and barely 1227 MW in 2029 , mainly due to contract expirations, the retirement of power plants operating in the spot market, and the decommissioning of leased units.
The gap would widen if no new capacity is added. By 2035, the same scenario projects only 890 MW of firm power available compared to a peak demand of 2921 MW , resulting in a deficit of approximately 2031 MW .
Added to this is the system's exposure to hydrological conditions. For 2026, the planning used by CREE forecasts a total generation of 11,879.76 GWh, of which 29.59% would come from hydroelectric plants and 46.54% from conventional thermal generation .
“The reform leaves room for the development of short-term tenders due to water emergencies such as the one that is coming for the next three years,” Deras said.
The cost of using non-contracted generation also provides context. For 2026, CREE calculated an average cost of USD 113.45/MWh for thermal generation under contracts , compared to USD 172.74/MWh for thermal generation acquired in the Opportunity Electricity Market , a difference of more than 50%. The average projected cost for all system generation was USD 125.87/MWh .
The 1500 MW will go ahead
Short-term hiring will be developed in parallel with the larger-scale process that Honduras is reformulating.
“The bidding rules will indeed be modified, maintaining the 1500 MW, prioritizing renewables ,” Deras confirmed.
The design that was in place before this new review contemplated a capacity of up to 1,500 MW plus a 10% reserve margin, for a maximum of 1,650 MW , the participation of renewable and non-renewable technologies and contracts for 15 years .
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It also established different stages for entry into operation during 2028, 2029 and 2030. Between August 2025 and March 2026, the CREE approved four amendments on the basis of that process.
Now part of that architecture will be modified again.
“The BOT concept is completely ruled out and is a figure that no longer exists in the text of the reform,” the commissioner stated.
The Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model was indeed included in the previous scheme. In fact, the CREE's latest quarterly report indicated that this model was under evaluation within the framework of the long-term tender.
Deras also announced that the entry deadlines will be modified and a reverse auction evaluation method will be applied.
At this point, the procedure builds upon a previously developed precedent. The earlier terms contemplated successive descending rounds accompanied by an optimization model designed to reduce the total purchase cost. Therefore, the new terms must determine how this mechanism will be structured within the reformulated process.
Storage finds its place in the bases
Another point that will need to be finalized is the participation of storage systems.
“The reform already includes autonomous and hybrid batteries associated with renewable projects; the way in which they should appear in the bidding documents is being analyzed,” Deras explained.
Honduras had already made progress in the technical regulation of this technology before the current reform. In April 2025, the CREE (Energy Regulatory Commission) modified various regulations to incorporate storage systems and hybrid generation plants into the planning and operation of the electrical system.
The potential scale of this technology is also outlined in the expansion plan. Among the alternatives used to model the future of the system are 140 MW of stand-alone battery storage, 450 MW of wind power with batteries, and 3,055.8 MW of solar photovoltaic with storage .
These figures do not correspond to awarded projects or a portfolio under construction , but rather to the set of candidate technologies that the CND uses to evaluate different expansion alternatives. Furthermore, in the case of solar with storage, the plan includes both batteries and pumped-storage hydroelectric plants.
Honduras is thus beginning to shape two processes with different objectives and timelines . On the one hand, the tender for approximately 600 MW will seek to address short-term needs through five-year contracts; on the other, the 1,500 MW process will continue to focus on incorporating structural capacity, albeit with a reformulation of its conditions.
For the first, October will be the next turning point , according to Deras. For the second, it remains to be seen how the elimination of the BOT, the new entry deadlines, the increased renewable energy participation, and the specific rules for storage will be implemented in the new regulations.