Energy Minister Ximena Rincón announced on Thursday that electricity bills for Chilean households will fall by an average of 4.3% starting in January 2027. She made the announcement after the Economic Committee meeting, which she chaired alongside Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas, T13 reported.
The figure is still preliminary. "Preliminary studies indicate a projected reduction of 4.3% in electricity bills for households across the country," Rincón said. The final report will be published in November and is expected to maintain the reduction.
The 4.3% is a national average, so not everyone will see the same reduction. According to the minister, 13 of the 16 regions will see a significant decrease. The government did not identify the three remaining regions or say how bills would change there.
The north will see the biggest decreases. Antofagasta could see an average reduction of 11%, Atacama 10.2%, Arica and Parinacota 9.9%, Valparaíso 8.5%, Coquimbo 8.4% and Tarapacá 7.4%. "That is obviously very good news for the country," Rincón said.
The authorities also did not say how many pesos an average household would save. You can still work it out at home. If you pay $40,000 a month, a 4.3% decrease amounts to about $1,720 less. In Antofagasta, with an 11% reduction, the same bill would fall by about $4,400.
The minister explained two reasons for the decrease. The first has to do with the dollar. Rates are calculated using an exchange rate fixed for each six-month period, and the rate for the previous period was higher than the actual dollar exchange rate. That left customers with a credit balance.
Rincón said that balance largely explains the figures in the preliminary technical report on the average node price. This is the regulated price of energy paid by customers of distribution companies.
The second reason is the contracts. Generation contracts signed in 2008 and 2010, which had higher prices, expire this year. Think of an expensive mobile phone plan taken out years ago that finally expires and is replaced with a new, cheaper one.
Those contracts will be replaced by agreements resulting from the bidding processes held in 2022, 2023 and 2025. According to the minister, those agreements "involve better prices." La Tercera reported the same information and described the new contracts as more competitive.
The next milestone is the final report in November. That document will confirm whether the 4.3% reduction will remain in place for January and what it will be in each region.
