“Deficit”, word that ENEE seems unable to eliminate from its vocabulary
For all of those who inhabit the land that saw us be born called Honduras, is more than known the so called National Company of Electric Power (ENEE), which was created on 1957 by La Junta Militar de Gobierno, with the vision of developing the energy sector of the country in a sustainable and responsible way. Long go are the times in which the state company was pioneer in the generation, distribution and provision of energetic fluid, so much so that it sold the excess in electricity that produced to brother countries in Central America, through the Electric Interconnection System.
The reality of the National Company of Electric Power (ENEE) nowadays is other, surrounded of scandals that splashes all the administrations that has tried to boost the Company, constant complaints on the part of the population for the high costs and terrible service, high debt that maintains with its providers; the list turns out to be pretty extensive. But, how a Company that is the only one in providing the electric energy service in the country can be permanently in a constant way in red numbers without reporting gains? This is the question that most of Hondurans ask everyday, particularly the day that we have to pay for said service.
As a result of the aforementioned, the Government of Honduras seeks to take actions aimed to boost the Energy Company. It is this way that comes into play in 2016 the Honduras Energy Company (EEH, by its acronyms in Spanish), which is a Consortium of several foreign companies which has been granted the Concession for the operation and performance of maintenance in all the distribution network, excepting for what constitutes the public lighting.
Despite these efforts, the Energy Company reflects a deficit in the first semester of 2018 of 4,385 million of Lempiras, which makes evident that the actions taken haven’t been enough to overcome the crisis and that develops in high debts towards the generators of electric energy, thus preventing that ENEE can reach a balance in its finances. As a consequence of this situation, it was recently integrated a “Energy Board” that is formed by members of power-generating companies and staff of the Government, that has as main objective the search of a solution that allows the National Company of Electric Power to emerge from the economic crisis in which it finds itself.
Unfortunately, to boost the Company is not an easy task and inevitably implies to rise the service fees, which will impact directly in the pockets of the Honduran people.
Fredy A. Castillo Portillo
Senior Associate
García & Bodán
Honduras