The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo boasts that in Nicaragua the energy matrix has been transformed based on renewable sources, an investigation by Article 66 He denied those “crystal advances” that the dictatorship proclaims.
The truth is that Nicaragua has increased the purchase of energy from Central American countries by up to 500% from 2018 to date, according to official statistics published by the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN).
For the political analyst and economist Enrique Sáenz, this trend of the dictatorship of buying cheaper energy is to sell it to Nicaraguan households at a higher price. Action that he assures is of some “drones”.
Related news: Ortega and his electricity business: The “clean energy” hoax
Official figures from the countries of the region place Nicaragua as the nation with the most expensive electricity rate in the isthmus. The kilowatt hour (kwh) in Honduras is paid at 0.156 dollars; 0.134 in Costa Rica and 0.245 in Nicaragua, a figure that doubles the costs in neighboring countries to the north and south in the region.
According to official statistics published by the BCN, Nicaragua increased its energy imports, purchased from its Central American neighbors, considerably between 2018 and 2022.
In 2018, energy purchases were 16.6 million dollars; in 2019 this purchase doubled and reached 38.23 million dollars; in 2020 it went back to 83.27 million dollars; in 2021 it fell to 72.1 million dollars, but in 2022 it rose again to reach 101.9 million dollars, reveal the statistics of the state issuing bank.
This desire to “import” is contradictory to the government propaganda that announces with fanfare that Nicaragua has a national electricity coverage of more than 99% of the territory and that at least 80% comes from renewable sources. «Nicaragua, instead of selling energy to other Central American countries, rather buys it. Compared to four years ago, purchases from other Central American countries have increased by 500%,” said Sáenz.
“Why are they buying it (energy) if they have invested so much? For a very simple reason, because in the other Central American countries cheaper energy is produced, so these drones buy this cheaper energy and sell it to Nicaraguans at a higher price”, he added.
The truth is that in Nicaraguan homes the high cost of electricity has recently risen while the cost of living increases each month. The basic food basket and the price of essential services cover the income of Nicaraguans. The minimum wage has stagnated for several years and the very poor adjustments have not allowed the gap to narrow.
