Group pledges support to provide electricity to all in Latin America and the Caribbean

With as many as 10 percent of the estimated 600 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean lacking electricity, the executive secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) said this week projects will be started soon to help them.

Fernando Ferreira told the Bolivian state news agency after this week's meeting of energy officials in Bolivia that the group will sign accords with financial institutions including the Andean Development Corp., the Interamerican Development Bank and the World Bank to support projects so that all people in Latin America and the Caribbean will have electricity.

“We have made several agreements that we will put into signed documents. They are several projects, but we still do not have the total value,” Ferreira said. "This is a matter in which OLADE has the responsibility of providing support along with the banks.” 

OLADE's goal is to contribute to the region´s integration, sustainable development and energy security by giving advice and fostering cooperation, according to its website. 

Some of those projects may begin to be drafted this year. In addition, Ferreira said OLADE has subscribed to the Sustainable Energy for All Americas initiative that started a decade ago.

The weeklong meeting of top energy officials from the region was carried out in Tarija, a region in Bolivia where natural gas is extracted. A document signed between country members at the end of the meeting pledged that they would work together.

“The countries that are members of OLADE are conscious that we have a region where we have much to do in terms of energy so that we can take to populations better living conditions,” he said.

OLADE members are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela in South America. In the Caribbean it includes Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Granada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. In Central America it includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Mexico, in North America, is also a member.