National Strategy for Rational and Efficient Use of Energy in Panama

An important step to implement the Energy Transition Agenda of Panama!

On June 1, 2022, the Government of Panama, through Cabinet Resolution No 66 of the same date, approved the National Strategy for the Rational and Efficient Use of Energy (ENUREE), which defines the roadmap for the implementation of a programme for the rational and efficient use of energy in all sectors of energy consumption, taking into consideration the legal framework defined by Law No 69 on Rational and Efficient Use of Energy of 2012 and the progress made in this area in the decade 2012 – 2022.

Under the responsibility of the National Energy Secretariat (SNE), in its capacity as the executive entity of the Ministry of the Presidency, governing the energy sector and coordinating the Interinstitutional Commission for the Rational and Efficient Use of Energy (CIUREE) , the ENUREE was developed in a collaborative process that included all public and private actors involved in the country’s energy efficiency policy, with the support of the World Bank, through its consultants Wolfgang F. Lutz, leader in developing the strategy with contributions from Nerys Gaítan and Virginie Letschert.

The ENUREE refers to the Strategic Guidelines of the Energy Transition Agenda 2020-2030 of Panama, and has the following specific objectives:

  1. Consolidate the role of the rational and efficient use of energy in the country’s energy transition policies;
  2. Reduce the energy intensity of the Panamanian economy, both with regard to primary energy and final energy consumption;
  3. Economise the spending on energy for users, increase their quality of life, well-being and productivity;
  4. Take advantage of the potential of rational and efficient use of energy as a pillar of the country’s environmental and social policies;
  5. Stimulate the initiative, innovative power and corporate responsibility of the actors to incorporate rational and efficient use of energy into the market;
  6. Use rational and efficient use of energy as a vector for regional integration and insertion into the new sustainable economy at the international level.

The ENUREE defines as overall goal for the year 2030, the reduction of the consumption of electrical energy byf 15%, relative to the ‘Business-as-usual’ scenario, contributing, in this way, to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7: ‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy’ for all.

Based on the results of a detailed diagnosis of the legal and regulatory framework, energy efficiency policies, programs and projects, the main guidelines for the ENUREE Roadmap were identified, which resulted in nine axes that constitute the strategy and that include a total of 42 actions, with activities planned in the short, medium and long term.

The nine axes of the ENUREE are:

  1. First Axis – Legal and regulatory framework
  2. Second Axis – Institutional framework and governance
  3. Third Axis – Sustainable Buildings
  4. Fourth Axis – Efficient energy consuming products
  5. Fifth Axis – Efficient public entities
  6. Sixth Axis – Energy efficiency markets
  7. Seventh Axis – Financial instruments
  8. Eighth Axis – Innovation, education and dissemination
  9. Ninth Axis – Energy efficiency goals, monitoring and evaluation

For more information, see the official document of ENUREE or contact the World Bank and the National Energy Secretariat of Panama.

December 2023