Chilean economist Andrés Rebolledo Smitmans has begun his second term as Executive Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE), a position to which he was re-elected for the 2026–2029 period during OLACDE’s LV Meeting of Ministers of Energy, held in Chile in October 2025. The official ceremony took place on Monday, March 2, at the Casa Museo Guayasamín in Quito.
Rebolledo’s re-election reflects support for his management between 2023 and 2025, a period that proved key to consolidating OLACDE as a regional technical and political benchmark in energy matters. In a complex international context, marked by the impacts of climate change on energy infrastructure and by the need to strengthen supply security, the Organization deepened its role as a platform for regional coordination, knowledge generation, and the building of strategic consensus for Latin America and the Caribbean.
During this three-year term, OLACDE helped strengthen regional energy integration, promoting electricity and natural gas interconnection initiatives and fostering a shared long-term vision through the creation of the Regional Energy Planning Council. This strategic space has enabled more structured coordination among member countries to anticipate challenges, harmonize policies, and build a forward-looking regional energy agenda. In addition, the Organization played an active role as Technical Secretariat in regional integration processes such as CELAC and the Brasilia Consensus.
This term was also marked by a significant increase in regional ambition on clean energy, with an agreement to reach 80% renewable electricity generation by 2030, positioning Latin America and the Caribbean as one of the world’s most advanced regions in the transition toward cleaner energy mixes. In parallel, OLACDE, together with the IDB, advanced the development of a regional agenda for the development and certification of low-emission hydrogen, aimed at facilitating its entry into international markets and strengthening the region’s position as an exporter.
In the area of international cooperation, the Organization consolidated a network of more than 60 projects and agreements with multilateral organizations, cooperation agencies, academia, and the private sector, strengthening the technical capacities of member countries and expanding the reach of regional cooperation. As part of this process, twelve specialized Technical Groups were created, which have since become permanent spaces for technical exchange, applied knowledge generation, and the development of regional initiatives in key areas of the energy sector.
A key milestone of the period was the creation of the OLACDE Business Council, which institutionalized public-private dialogue at the regional level, with the aim of attracting investment, reducing regulatory gaps, and supporting the region’s energy transition processes in a coordinated manner. The Latin American and Caribbean Methane Emissions Observatory (OEMLAC) was also created, positioning the region in managing one of the main climate challenges associated with the energy sector, by strengthening methodologies, data, and technical capacities.
Human capital development was another central pillar of this term. Between 2023 and 2025, more than 16,000 people took part in training programs, including workshops, courses, diplomas, and master’s programs developed jointly with academic institutions in the region. This effort positioned OLACDE as a regional benchmark in energy training and was complemented by the development of a cross-cutting “Gender and Energy” agenda, which led to the creation of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Women in Energy (REDLACME), as well as the active inclusion of young people and energy sector worker representatives in regional dialogue with ministerial authorities.
With the start of this second term, OLACDE looks ahead to a new stage focused on deepening regional energy integration, accelerating the adoption of clean technologies, strengthening universal access to energy, and advancing toward a resilient, inclusive energy transition with a long-term vision.
The 2026–2029 Management Plan is structured around seven strategic pillars that prioritize: 1) regional integration, 2) technical cooperation, 3) energy diplomacy, 4) security and access, 5) technological innovation, 6) capacity building, and 7) institutional modernization, with the aim of positioning Latin America and the Caribbean not only as a region rich in resources, but as a region capable of proposing energy solutions on the global stage.
Full event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26opHQrYtQU&t=11s
