Guatemala’s PEG-5 auction draws 1.3 GW of renewables at USD 101/MWh

Guatemala’s PEG-5 power procurement tender has concluded its reverse auction phase, which ran for 14 consecutive hours under a descending clock mechanism. A total of 57 financial bids were submitted, reaching an average all-in price of USD 101.09/MWh—reflecting the balance between capacity and energy prices offered during the auction.

According to a preliminary assessment by Guatemala’s main distribution companies, EEGSA and ENERGUATE, and industry sources consulted by Energía Estratégica, 48 projects are expected to be awarded. Of these, 45 include renewable energy—37 fully renewable (non-conventional renewable energy, NCRE) and eight hybrid proposals.

For the 37 purely renewable bids likely to be awarded, the average capacity price stands at USD 16.15/kW, while the average energy price reaches USD 60.80/MWh.

When considering all 45 projects that incorporate renewable generation, the average capacity price rises to USD 19.92/kW, while the average energy price falls to USD 57.05/MWh.

Analysis of the results indicates that renewable energy capacity exceeds 1.35 GW within the tender. Including both primary and secondary renewable generation components, the total awarded capacity would reach 1,353.96 MW.

Of this total, 1,016.85 MW corresponds to strictly renewable projects, while 337.11 MW relates to hybrid projects, where renewable generation acts as a secondary or backup source alongside thermal technologies such as propane gas, bunker fuel, petroleum coke or coal.

These figures are based on the evaluation of bids submitted during the auction. Therefore, the identified projects are considered potential winners, with official award confirmation scheduled for 16 April, in line with the tender timeline.

The tender process also highlighted strong competition in Guatemala’s electricity market. A total of 51 generation companies participated, submitting proposals exceeding 4.7 GW—more than three times the capacity required under the tender.

In total, 57 bids were registered, of which 54 include renewable energy within their technological configuration.

Among these, 46 projects are strictly renewable, where clean energy serves as the primary source (Comb1) with no secondary fuel. Meanwhile, eight projects rely on fossil fuels—such as propane, bunker fuel, petroleum coke or coal—as their main source, but incorporate renewable energy as a secondary component (Comb2).

In terms of allocation, 48 bids received awarded capacity, as indicated by positive values in the assigned capacity column (P.Adj). Nine proposals were not awarded, corresponding to projects 02-AGEN2, 08-ANA1, 10-ANA3, 11-ANA4, 23-COMAPSA2, 32-ECOSUR2, 88-TUNCAJ6, 89-TUNCAJ7 and 92-XOLHUIT1.

A novel feature of this tender was the inclusion, for the first time, of a virtual bid submitted by Guatemala’s National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE). This mechanism acted as an additional competitor within the reverse auction, aiming to optimise final prices and improve overall auction efficiency.

Pending official confirmation on 16 April, preliminary results from PEG-5 already highlight the strong role of renewable energy in the expansion of Guatemala’s power system, with more than 1.3 GW linked to these technologies among the bids identified as awardable.