Environment and Energy sets wholesale electricity market rules for rationing

The Ministry of Environment and Energy issued Agreement MAE-MAE-2026-0088-A-AM, which establishes the measures applicable to the operation of the electricity sector at the wholesale level during periods of deficit alert, deficit, mandatory rationing, and forced rationing declared by the National Electricity Operator (CENACE). The regulation was published in the Third Supplement No. 392 of the Official Registry, corresponding to Monday, October 19, 2026, on pages 10 to 22.

The instrument is added to the regulatory chain that governs the operation of the National Interconnected System (SNI) when available generation is insufficient to cover demand. Executive Decree No. 355 of August 14, 2024, tasked the then Ministry of Energy and Mines, now the Ministry of Environment and Energy, with coordinating actions with CENACE to meet demand and sustain the provision of the service; Executive Decree No. 94 of August 14, 2025, merged the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition into that portfolio by absorption and established its current name.

CENACE had notified in 2025 the end of the energy rationing period, but warned that the deficit alert remained in effect since October 16, 2023, as stated in official letters CENACE-CENACE-2025-0003-C of March 25, 2025, and CENACE-CENACE-2025-0404-O of April 7, 2025.

The four scenarios that activate the measures

Regulation No. ARCONEL-004/25, published in the Third Supplement No. 370 of September 16, 2026, defines the four periods to which the new agreement refers:

• Deficit alert: savings are encouraged through tariff signals and actions by distributors to reduce demand and avoid rationing.
• Deficit: distributors apply scheduled rationing according to the contingency plan developed by CENACE and approved by the relevant ministry.
• Mandatory rationing: distributors or the transmitter execute scheduled cuts by CENACE, which are mandatory, to avoid forced rationing and preserve priority services.
• Forced rationing: CENACE orders unscheduled cuts, for immediate application, to maintain system security.

In these scenarios, the distribution of roles is already defined: the system operator schedules and orders the cuts, while the distribution companies and the transmitter execute them for the consumers.

Wholesale scope and current tools

The scope declared in the official title is the operation of the electricity sector at the wholesale level, the segment where energy and power are traded before reaching regulated and non-regulated users. Generators, the transmitter, and distributors operate there, whose settlements depend on the operating conditions declared by CENACE.

Alongside that architecture, the current framework includes backup instruments for the continuity of supply. Regulation No. ARCONEL-002/26 regulates the technical and commercial operation of emergency generator sets and establishes the compensation item (RCEGEE), which for the September-October 2026 period ranges from 18.13 to 44.68 US cents per kWh depending on the type of fuel and the power of the generator.

Subscription, certification, and publication

The agreement was signed on September 20, 2026, and consists of twelve pages. The General Secretary of the ministry, Luis Carlos Artieda Carrera, certified on September 29, 2026, that the text is a true copy of the original document held in the Passive Archive, signed with a handwritten signature.

The publication took place on Monday, October 19, 2026, within the Third Supplement No. 392, a 65-page bulletin that also includes Agreement MAE-VM-2026-0002-AM, regarding verification and traceability in the export of mineralized material, as well as environmental and financial resolutions.

The relevance of the agreement lies in the fact that it organizes, in a single instrument, the commercial rules of the wholesale market precisely under the conditions that most affect users: when the system enters alert, deficit, or rationing. The continuity of supply, the settlement of generators, and the way distributors pass on the costs of operating in an emergency depend on its application.

Source: Official Registry, Third Supplement No. 392, Monday, October 19, 2026, pp. 10-22 (official reference: MAE-MAE-2026-0088-A-AM).