Chile gas and power market outlook

Chile’s power sector was largely resilient throughout the pandemic: demand was modestly affected by restriction measures that impacted the economy while expansion of renewables gained momentum. Since our latest release in October 2020, local utilities have continued to announce accelerated retirement schedules of coal-fired power plants and the pipeline of wind and solar projects to be commissioned until 2023 increased by 1.6 GW. The growth in renewable energy capacity and the decommissioning of coal capacity supports the life extension of gas-fired power plants. To increase dispatch in a world of recovered LNG prices, gas plant owners can take advantage of the firm export framework in Argentina, which might revive gas exports through GasAndes. However, securing long-term piped import volumes remains uncertain and depends on the Argentine government’s efforts to recover the trust of Chilean gas buyers.