.I Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the United States Department of Energy under contract W-7405-ENG 36 The Energy Situation in Five Central American Countries Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos,New Mexico 87545 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. This work was supported by the U.S.Agency for International Development. DISCLAIMER This repon was prepared as an account ofwork sponsored by an agency of the United Slates Government Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any oftheir employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness ofany information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infnnge pnvately owned nghts Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessanly constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favonng by the United States Government or any agency thereof The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessanly slate or reflect those ofthe United States Government or any agency thereof DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of dork sponsored by an agency of the United States LA-10988-MS Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi- bility for the accuracy, -completeness, or usefulness of any informatioil, apparatus, product, or UC-98 process disclosed, or represents that its use .would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer- I Issued: June 1987 ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom- mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. The Energy Situation in Five Central American Countries LA--1 09 8 8-MS ~~87012708 Principal Investigators Linda Trocki Steven R. Booth Alvaro UmaAa Q.* Collaborators Patricia C. Aragon Annette Youngblood Turpin Robert H. Drake Donald W. Morris Fred Roach Guillermo Selva T.* Work Performed in Cooperation with Direccibn Sectorial de Energia, Costa Rica Comisi6n Ejecutiva Hidroelbctrica del RFo Lempa, El Salvador Ministerio de Energia y Minas, Guatemala Consejo Superior de Planificaci6n Econ6mica, Honduras Comisi6n Nacional de Energia, Panama Secretarla Permanente del Tratado General de Integraci6n Econ6mica Centroamericana lnstituto Centroamericano de Investigaci6n y Tecnologia Industrial 'Instituto Centroarnericano de Adrninistraci6n de Ernpresas, Apartado 960, 4050, Alajuela, COSTA RICA. Los Alamos National Laboratory mos Los Alamos,New Mexico 87545 CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................... viii PART I OVERVIEW FOR FIVE COUNTRIES OVE RVIE W Linda Trocki, Steven R. Booth, and Alvaro UmaAa Q. ........................... 3 PART II ENERGY SITUATION REPORTS FOR FIVE COUNTRIES COSTA RlCA Linda Trocki and Alvaro UmaAa Q. .................... ......... .. 65 EL SALVADOR Donald W. Morris, Linda Trocki, and Guillermo Selva T. ........ .......... 133 GUATEMALA Fred Roach and Steven R. Booth. .......................................... 179 HONDURAS Steven R.Booth ........................................................ 237 PANAMA Annette Youngblood Turpin. ............................................... 289 V ABSTRACT This study describes the energy resources and the changes that have taken place in energy supply and demand in five Central American countries between 1970 and 1984. Economic changes are also reviewed because they influence and are affected by changes in the energy sector. The work was performed under the auspices of the US Agency for International Development. The Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama are highly dependent on fuel wood as a source of energy, particularly in the residential sector. They also rely upon imported oil products to supply a growing modern sector. Most countries have significant hydroelectric and geothermal resources, and most countries produce a large portion of their electricity from hydroelectric projects. Demand for electricity has grown rapidly. Relative shares of primary versus secondary energy in the five countries vary significantly and strongly correlate with average per capita income. Consumption of secondary energy has declined during the recent economic recession suffered by the region. vii ABSTRACT This study describes the energy resources and the changes that have taken place in energy supply and demand in five Central American countries between 1970 and 1984. Economic changes are also reviewed because they influence and are affected by changes in the energy sector. The work was performed under the auspices of the US Agency for International Development. The Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama are highly dependent on fuel wood as a source of energy, particularly in the residential sector. They also rely upon imported oil products to supply a growing modern sector. Most countries have significant hydroelectric and geothermal resources, and most countries produce a large portion of their electricity from hydroelectric projects. Demand for electricity has grown rapidly. Relative shares of primary versus secondary energy in the five countries vary significantly and strongly correlate with average per capita income. Consumption of secondary energy has declined during the recent economic recession suffered by the region. vii - ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work owes a great deal to the energy planners in each country who so graciously received us, shared their views with us, and provided the information contained in this report. Scientists and engineers who contributed include members of the energy directorate or ministry in each country, the national utilities, the forestry ministries, and the central banks. We are especially indebted to the following people and their staffs for their extensive cooperation and their comprehensive review of the draft document: Jorge Blanco Roldan of the Energy Sector Directorate of Costa Rica, Oscar Melgar of the Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Commission in El Salvador, Rolando Yon Siu of the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Guatemala, Rafael Ochoa of the Economic Planning Council of Honduras, Ramon Argote of the National Energy Commission of Panama, and Julio Obiols Gomez of the Permanent Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration. Thanks are also owed the officers of the US Agency for International Development (AID): Heriberto Rodriguez, Costa Rica; Peter Deinken, El Salvador; Lawrence "Doc" Odle, Guatemala; Lynn Sheldon, Honduras; Jose Sanchez, Panama; Carl Duisberg and Ronald Bloom, Regional Office for Central America and Panama; and James Hestor and Albert0 Sabadell, Washington. Without their support, this work could not have been accomplished. Our efforts have benefited significantly from the strong support that we have received from our managers, Verne W. Loose, Joseph A. Frank, and Ronald K. Lo h rding . Wilma J. Bunker provided many helpful suggestions for organization of the document and contributed much of her time to editing it. This report was typed by Petrita Montano, Hazel Kutac, E. Corine Ortiz, and Kay Grady. Special thanks are owed Myrle Johnson and Flavio Gurule, who supervised the preparation of the figures done by Loyola C. Martinez, Donna S. Williams, Dixie E. Hanks, and Janice L. Gorlitz. viii AC KNOW LE DGMENTS This work owes a great deal to the energy planners in each country who so graciously received us, shared their views with us, and provided the information contained in this report. Scientists and engineers who contributed include members of the energy directorate or ministry in each country, the national utilities, the forestry ministries, and the central banks. We are especially indebted to the following people and their staffs for their extensive cooperation and their comprehensive review of the draft document: Jorge Blanco Roldan of the Energy Sector Directorate of Costa Rica, Oscar Melgar of the Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Commission