Chile"s National Energy Commission (CNE) has opened the economic bids submitted by the six companies participating in the 2025/01 Electricity Supply Tender, designed to allocate 3360 GWh to meet regulated consumer demand between 2027 and 2030.
In total, 708 price proposals were submitted, with economic bids ranging from USD 38 to USD 120 per MWh.
The average price per bidder fell between USD 60.9 and USD 81.2 per MWh, distributed as follows:
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Guacolda Energía (Chilean generation company): 93 offers average price USD 72.34/MWh
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Enel Generación (subsidiary of Italy"s Enel Group): 384 proposals USD 74.59/MWh
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Evol Energy (independent power producer): 12 bids USD 67.57/MWh
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Grenergy (Spanish renewable energy developer): 27 offers USD 61.58/MWh
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BTG Pactual (regional energy trader and asset manager): 72 proposals USD 63.88/MWh
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Colbún (major Chilean generator): 120 bids USD 85.13/MWh
It is important to note that the number of economic proposals stems from the division of the tender into four zonal blocks, each subdivided into three time blocks:
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Block A: 00:00 07:59 and 23:00 23:59
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Block B: 08:00 17:59
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Block C: 18:00 22:59
A particular feature of this tender is that price variations across regions and time blocks were relatively small.
In non-solar hours, 70% of bids exceeded USD 71/MWh and 92% surpassed USD 61/MWh.
In the solar block, 66% of bids were above USD 68/MWh and 90% exceeded USD 58/MWh, despite the well-known oversupply of solar PV generation in that period, according to industry data.
In addition, the reserve price or maximum allowable price set by the CNE ranged from USD 80 to USD 95 per MWh, depending on the supply block and its respective zonal and hourly segmentation.
As a consequence, some of the economic proposals exceeded the established ceiling.
This means that bid prices remained within a broader range compared to the 2023/01 supply tender, where the weighted average offer price reached USD 72/MWh, versus USD 62.2/MWh recorded in the 2023 auction (awarded in 2024).
Stakeholders in the Chilean electricity sector had already anticipated that the current tender would be shaped by conditions limiting aggressive price strategies, including energy surpluses and an uncertain regulatory outlook.
At the same time, this tender is expected to offer a clear signal of market interest and provide reference points for future projects and pricing, in this case, for short-term electricity supply.
Although Enel appears to have an advantage based on the volume and competitiveness of its bids, the winning company or companies will only be revealed later this week.
The process will continue this Tuesday, 9 December, with formal communication of awards in either the first or second evaluation stage, while the public act is scheduled for Thursday, 11 December.
Should a second bidding stage be necessary to allocate the full supply, it will take place on the same 11 December, with final awards announced on 12 December, according to the official tender schedule.
Below is the breakdown of the 708 economic offers: