continued from San Juan del Sur home

This will mean that electricity prices will have gone up 30% in the last year alone. The Instituto Nicaragüense de Energía (INE) or Nicaraguan Energy Institute has not confirmed the increase but have stated that the existing rate is based on fuel oil being US$82 dollars a barrel. It is currently US$95 a barrel.

In real terms, based on the current fuel prices, a megawatt hour should be charged out at US$160 and not the US$140 currently being charged.

Nicaragua’s dependency on hydrocarbon fuels is causing huge problems with the cost of production. Eighty two percent (82%) of electrical power is generated by fossil fuel. Nicaragua has the most expensive system in Central America, However; critics say that we are doing the least to control usage, (other than rationing).

Panama for instance has strict controls over unnecessary use. For example, illuminated business signage must be turned off when the business closes.

Maybe Bob Dylan had it right all those years ago; “The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.”

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