On November 4, Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina will host the 2014 Mesoamerican Energy Investment Summit, convening regional energy ministers and electricity regulators, the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, private companies, commercial banks, and civil society. The State Department’s Special Representative for Commercial Business Affairs Scott Nathan will lead the United States delegation along with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Energy Resources Robert Ichord.

The Summit in Guatemala City is part of the Connecting the Americas 2022 Initiative. The event will provide an opportunity to attract private sector investment in Central American clean energy infrastructure, including cleaner sources of power generation and additional transmission capacity. Discussions will focus on ways to improve regulatory frameworks to enable more regional electricity trade and mobilize greater private capital.

The Summit will also showcase the September completion of the regional power transmission line for the Central American Electricity Interconnection System (SIEPAC). The SIEPAC line enables six Central American countries to trade electricity across borders, so that those with a surplus can export power to those facing a shortage. The event will highlight regional support for advancing the proposed electrical interconnection between Colombia and Panama that, if completed, would link Andean and Central American power markets, offering larger markets for investment in low carbon generation and creating more competitive regional electricity markets to reduce prices for consumers.

The United States is encouraging the interconnection of national and regional power systems across the Western Hemisphere over the next decade through the Connecting the Americas 2022 initiative. Interconnection expands the size of power markets, creates economies of scale to attract private investment, increases the uptake of renewable sources, and reduces electricity prices for consumers, making businesses more competitive and creating jobs.

For further information, please contact Nathan Hernandez at HernandezNR@state.gov or 202-647-4721, or visithttp://www.state.gov/e/enr/c52654.htm.