Energy grants Interchile electrical concession for Las Palmas substation in Canela

The Ministry of Energy granted Interchile S.A. the definitive electrical concession to establish the Las Palmas New Flow Control System Bypass Substation, in the commune of Canela, province of Choapa, Coquimbo Region. The decision is contained in exempt decree No. 262, dated October 27, 2026, published this Monday, November 9, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, edition No. 44,594, Section II (Particular Norms), under official reference CVE 2897693. The work is part of the national transmission plan that seeks to improve the utilization of the 2x220 kV Las Palmas - Los Vilos line.

The decree bears the signature of the Minister of Energy, Ximena Rincón González, by order of the President of the Republic, and was endorsed by the head of the Legal Division of the Undersecretariat of Energy, Andrea Verónica Soto Araya. It is issued under the General Law of Electrical Services (decree with force of law No. 4/20,018, of 2006), its Regulation (supreme decree No. 327, of 1997), and Law No. 19,880 on administrative procedures, considering the report from the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels (electronic ordinary letter No. 335192, dated May 26, 2026) and exempt resolution No. 45, of January 28, 2026, from the National Energy Commission, which established the consolidated text of the Technical Standard for Safety and Quality of Service.

The act was exempt from the toma de razón (legal review) process, pursuant to article 14, literal C), numeral 14.7 of resolution No. 36, of 2024, of the Comptroller General of the Republic, which only subjects sanitary, gas, and electrical distribution concessions to said control.

Background: from Interconexión Eléctrica to Interchile

The concession derives from exempt decree No. 58, of 2024, which contains the new work “New Flow Control System for 220 kV Sections Las Palmas - Centella”, and from decree No. 5T, published on July 28, 2025, which awarded the projects to Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. E.S.P.

Through exempt decree No. 282, of October 30, 2025, the Ministry accepted the change of ownership in favor of Interchile S.A., assigning the rights and conditions for the execution and operation of the new work.

The project has a twin work: the Punta Sierra New Flow Control System Bypass Substation, in Ovalle, granted by exempt decree No. 263 and published on November 6, 2026, in edition No. 44,592 of the Official Gazette (CVE 2897692).

Technical scope of the substation

• Concessioned area: 8,352.75 square meters.
• General Works Plan PGO_001, consisting of 14 sheets updated between October and November 2025.
• Permanent works: the intervention of the entrance of the 2x220 kV Las Palmas - Los Vilos line to the new substation and the flow control substation itself.
• Technical requirement: the equipment must dynamically compensate the series reactance of the circuits by at least 55%, and support a steady-state current equivalent to the circuits they compensate, with capacity at 25 °C in sunlight.

According to the decree, the objective is to redistribute the power flows of the 2x220 kV Las Palmas - Los Vilos line to allow for better utilization, contribute to diversifying the energy matrix, and advance decarbonization, while maintaining safety and service quality standards.

Investment, deadlines, and easements

• Total budget for the works: $15,113,415,623 (fifteen billion one hundred thirteen million four hundred fifteen thousand six hundred twenty-three Chilean pesos).
• Concession term: indefinite.
• Duration of the works: 18 months, starting six months after the publication of the decree, i.e., towards May 2027, unless authorizations and agreements with the owner of the affected property are obtained sooner.

The layout will cross a private property, therefore electrical easements were established in the “Resto del Predio El Totoral”, belonging to Sociedad Agrícola El Totoral Limitada, in Canela, with plan PES_001 and registration at page 1 reverse, number 2, year 2000, of the Real Estate Registrar of Los Vilos. The impact reaches 171.32 meters in Section 1 and 24.12 meters in Section 2, with areas of 4,177.45 and 868.46 square meters, respectively, plus a transit easement of 428.47 meters and 1,928.12 square meters.

The affected facilities are the 2x220 kV Las Palmas - Los Vilos Line and the Las Palmas Substation, both owned by Transelec S.A. The concessionaire is obliged to provide the energy transmission service under legal quality and continuity conditions, to fully remove the facilities when they become obsolete, and to comply with environmental legislation before executing the works.

The publication consolidates the effective transfer of a strategic transmission project for Coquimbo to Interchile S.A. and enables an investment of over 15 billion pesos in electrical infrastructure in the Choapa province, in a key corridor for evacuating renewable energy to the National Electric System.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,594, November 9, 2026, Section II (Particular Norms), pp. 1-5 (official reference: CVE 2897693).