On Tuesday, December 23, 2025, under the current management of President José Jerí, the company Hydroelectric America, whose owner is the Chinese businessman Zhihua Yangrequested the General Directorate of Electricity, of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), to extend the deadline to begin operations at the Pachachaca 2 station, which should begin on May 1 of this year.
On March 7, 2023, “Uncle Johnny” Yang, as he is known among his people, won the concession contract for the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant, whose estimated value is US$224 million, so that in a period of three years the plant will begin to produce electrical energy for the benefit of more than 50 thousand people.
However, in a recent report on the sector’s projects, the Energy Investment Supervisory Body (Osinergmin), reported to the Ministry of Energy and Mines that Hidroelectrica América has failed to meet the deadlines and will not be in conditions put Pachachaca 2 into operation on May 1 next
As confirmed by Minem spokespersons to La República, Yang has requested the ministerial office to grant him a postponement until June 15, 2029 for the “commercial operation” of Pachachaca 2. That is, three years more than what is established in the concession contract.
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The deadline is over
In the letter addressed to the head of the General Directorate of ElectricityDavid Arias Díaz, for the company of the president’s friend José Jerí, registered with code N°4188671, It is argued that the stoppage of the work is due to the fact that the Juan Velasco Alvarado peasant communitylocated in the district of Pacobamba, in the province of Andahuaylas (Apurímac), opposes the project for environmental reasons.
The Zhihua concessionaire points out that the community members of Juan Velasco Alvarado allege that the hydroelectric project will affect the flow of water and that in times of drought it will cause the death of fish.
The letter from “Uncle Johnny” Yang’s company is dated three days before President Jerí visited and had dinner with his businessman friend, on the night of December 26, at the “Xin Yan” chifa, located in a building owned by “Uncle Johnny” himself, on San Luis Avenue, in San Borja.
According to the Osinergmin report, until November 2025, despite the stoppage of the work, Hidroeléctrica América did not request an extension of the delivery period.
“The Ministry of Energy and Mines was informed that the project remains paralyzed. Likewise, information was requested regarding whether the Concessionaire has submitted any request to modify its Works Execution Schedule, given that the POC (commissioning commercial operation) scheduled for 05/01/2026 would not be met,” is mentioned in the Osinergmin report.
Hidroeléctrica América only did so weeks later, as indicated, on December 23. and the On the 26th of the same month, “Uncle Johnny” Yang received President Jerí at the chifa.
When appearing before the Oversight Commission on January 21 of this year, President José Jerí stated that in the meetings he had with Zhihua Yang, he did not ask for favors and that the meetings were informal, forgetting that the Chinese citizen is a contractor and concessionaire of the State, so all appointments with him must be official and registered.
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The people don’t know anything
The lawyer of businessman Zhihua Yang, Raquel Nuñuvero Vargas, told The Republic that he is not authorized to comment on his client’s business dealings or on ongoing tax investigations.
Regarding the postponement of the start of operations of the Pachachaca 2 hydroelectric plant, a project located in the Huancarama district, Mayor Roberto Pérez Arias complained about the concessionaire for not having completed the work and asking for three more years.
“The Pachachaca 2 Hydroelectric Plant would be an achievement for the Apurímac region and in particular for the population of Huancarama, but unfortunately everything has come to nothing. The paralysis harms us. Having a tremendous river (the Pachachaca), we are not going to have electricity for all that time that the company asks for,” said the mayor.
“Huancarama is a small district that is growing rapidly with more than 9 thousand inhabitants with 29 annexes and electric energy would be beneficial for us, therefore, the postponement of the work is bad news,” said Mayor Pérez.
The Hidroelectrica América company alleged that the delay was due to the protests of the community members of Juan Velasco Alvarado. But, the mayor of Pacobamba, Efrén Huarancca Urquizo, told La República that the company’s version is false. The community is located in its jurisdiction.
“The dealership is lying. We are 100% unaware of the execution of the project,” said the mayor of Pacobamba, the district in which the community of Juan Velasco Alvarado is located.
“How are we going to oppose something that we don’t know about because there has been no progress. There hasn’t even been an awareness process,” said Huarancca.
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The concession at stake
In accordance with the Electrical Concessions Law, the company that does not comply with the works, in accordance with the execution schedule, incurs grounds for expiration of the concession granted. Unless the concessionaire demonstrates that the work has been prevented by a fortuitous event or force majeure, it is possible to set a new date for the completion of the project.
Sources of the Minen They told La República confirmed that the compilation of Osinerming reports has begun regarding the case of the Pachachaca Hydroelectric Power Plant, with the purpose of evaluating Zhihua Yang’s request, and determining whether a declaration of expiration of the concession and the execution of the letter of guarantee of faithful performance, which reaches the sum of US$244.2 thousand, is appropriate.
For this project, the concessionaire Hidroeléctrica América, owned by “Uncle Johnny” Yang, has allocated an investment of US$24.4 million.
