The Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE) recently held the first meeting of the Regional Energy Planning Council, a new platform launched by the organization to strengthen cooperation and the coordination of energy policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Council was created as a result of the Ministerial Decision adopted during the IX Energy Week in Paraguay, and it is consolidating itself as a key mechanism for aligning visions, coordinating strategies, and promoting integrated solutions to the current challenges facing the energy sector.
“The process of regional energy integration is more urgent than ever. This Council is becoming a central platform for cooperation and energy development at a time when renewable energy is gaining ground, but challenges persist in investment, regulatory frameworks, and infrastructure,” said OLACDE’s Executive Secretary, Andrés Rebolledo.
Rebolledo emphasized that energy integration has historically been a pillar of OLACDE, but that today it is becoming a strategic necessity. “At OLACDE, we are actively driving this collective process that will allow us to build a Regional Energy Integration Agreement, generating synergies and systemic solutions beyond the national sphere,” he noted.
Guido Maiulini, OLACDE’s Head of Strategic Advisory, highlighted that the Council is a fundamental tool for responding to the energy challenges facing the region. “We are facing an opportunity to position energy planning as a lever for development,” he said.
Maiulini also thanked the member countries for their commitment and acknowledged the technical support of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Colombia’s Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME), and Brazil’s Energy Research Company (EPE). “We highlight Brazil’s leadership, which, from the pro tempore presidency of the G20 and the Working Group on Energy Transitions, has placed planning as a strategic pillar for developing countries,” he added.
Likewise, the alignment of this vision with the recent creation of the Global Coalition for Energy Planning, driven by Brazil, was recognized as evidence of the region’s commitment to moving toward more integrated, sustainable, and resilient energy markets.
During this first session, the 2025 Work Plan was presented, which included valuable technical contributions from ECLAC, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), as well as from experts in energy transition and decarbonization.
Among the next lines of action defined are holding a working session in June, developing a regional diagnostic on energy planning—serving as the basis for designing sustainable public policies—and organizing a virtual seminar on energy poverty, in line with the commitments of the G20 and the upcoming COP30.
Through this initiative, OLACDE reaffirms its commitment to collective, participatory, results-oriented energy planning, aligned with global challenges and the priorities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
