Electricity transmission linking Panama and Colombia grids to go up this year

Colombia's state-owned transmission firm ISA will begin construction on a 372-mile transmission line connecting the Colombian and Panamanian power grids this year.

The line will have an initial transmission capacity of 300 megawatts, with the option to be extended up to 600 megawatts. An auction for allocating the capacity is planned for May 2012, with the first power transactions between the two countries expected to take place in early 2015.

The firm plans to participate in tenders for new transmission projects with values of up to $300 million across both Colombia and Peru, as well a July round in Brazil organized by power market regulator Aneel.

Source: Electric Light and Power