Chile suspends peak-hour charges in medium-sized systems in the south

Chile’s Ministry of Energy exceptionally excluded the month of September 2026 from the peak hour charge period in the medium systems of the south of the country, through Decree No. 14T, dated August 25, 2026. The measure, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,543 on Saturday, September 5, 2026 (CVE 2866976), modifies Decrees No. 8T of 2024 and No. 10T of 2025, and benefits consumers and companies in isolated areas.

The decision responds to a request from the Ministry of Economy, Development, and Tourism, which through official letter OFIC202607362, dated August 3, 2026, requested an evaluation of the exclusion of the month of September from the peak hour charge period. The agency argued lower economic dynamism, higher energy costs, and fuel price volatility derived from the international scenario, as well as the need to temporarily alleviate the burdens affecting the competitiveness of the productive apparatus.

Benefited medium systems

Decree No. 14T modifies the decrees that set prices at the generation and transmission level and establish the expansion plan for the medium systems of southern Chile:

• Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales, Porvenir, and Puerto Williams (Decree No. 8T of 2024).
• Aysén, Palena, General Carrera, and Puerto Cisnes (Decree No. 10T of 2025).

New peak hour regime

With the modification, for the year 2026, peak hours shall be understood as the period of the day between 17:00 and 22:00 hours during the months of April, May, June, July, and August, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays of said months. The remaining hours of the year shall be off-peak hours.

The provision also applies for the purposes of what is established in Decrees 5T/2024 and 4T/2018, or those that replace them, and keeps all other provisions of Decrees No. 8T and No. 10T in effect.

Processing and control

The decree was signed by order of the President of the Republic by the Minister of Energy, Ximena Rincón González, and transcribed by the head of the Legal Division of the Undersecretariat of Energy, Andrea Verónica Soto Araya. The Comptroller General of the Republic processed the decree with scope through official letter No. OF167920/2026, dated September 2, 2026, signed by the acting Comptroller General, Víctor Hugo Merino Rojas, with the approval of the head of the Electrical Department of the National Energy Commission.

The measure represents a temporary tariff relief for households and businesses in the isolated areas of southern Chile, which depend on medium-sized electrical systems with higher generation and transmission costs. By eliminating the peak-hour charge during September, the Government seeks to contain the impact of higher energy costs and sustain the competitiveness of the productive apparatus in a context of lower economic dynamism, without altering the security and reliability criteria of the national electrical system.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,543, Saturday, September 5, 2026, General Regulations, page 1 of 3 (official reference: CVE 2866976, decree No. 14T).