Public electricity highway: Government decided not to include expropriations and trade associations support resolution
11-Jul-2012 El Mercurio – News
Chilean Federation of Industry (Sofofa for its acronym in Spanish) and Association of Power Generation Companies stated the model meets the projects expedition purpose
Public electricity highway: Government decided not to include expropriations and trade associations support resolution
Ministry of Energy leans toward the position where State would only handle easement of lands to be subsequently bid amongst companies that will undertake trunk transmission system lines construction
One of main definitions regarding the public electricity highway is already made.
Yesterday Minister of Energy, Jorge Bunster, together with Subsecretary of Energy, Sergio del Campo, have informed Senior Management of Confederation of Production Industry and Commerce (CPC for its acronym in Spanish) that the project to be submitted in August does not include the execution of expropriation authority by State as a means to expedite acquisition of lands through which the trunk transmission system will go.
Some sources well acquainted of the meeting discussions indicated that Bunster explained the Management of CPC that after several surveys it was concluded that implementation of a model such as urban highways model where the State expropriates the lands before calling for bids from private companies was disregarded.
Favorable reception
Afterwards, the team lead by Lorenzo Constans was informed that the most suitable model for Ministry is that where the State handles easement for free ingress (permits the companies ask the authority to grant in order to use third-parties’ lands for projects construction). This would allow the companies to receive these concessions immediately upon they are granted the order to construct transmission lines that will go through the highway.
Even though during the meeting it was not specified the extent to which the State would be involved in negotiations with third parties for territorial strips, it is assumed the State would be leaning towards a position where permits are not granted based on agreements settled between companies and land owners as it occurs today.
Besides, it is expected to expedite timing for easement of free ingress permits issuance which nowadays may even take up to four years. The above point will be supported by Law draft the Government has submitted to Congress for expedition of these permits.
After the meeting, Andrés Concha, President of Sofofa, expressed his agreement with the Ministry decision as regards to this matter.
“From a land owner’s standpoint maybe an ingress concession is less intrusive than expropriation as it does not interrupt the continuity of involved lands”, Concha asserted.
CPC also agreed with this diagnosis and believes this mechanism is more expeditious than expropriation in order to avoid increase of process judicialization.
On the other side, General Manager of Association of Power Generation Companies, René Muga, said that if the State is going to bid free ingress concessions it may be considered as a sign in the way to eliminate hurdles for electric power projects.
In contrast to this, José Miguel Hernández, Attorney at law, Partner of Fermandois, Evans & Cia. Lawyers, stated that when excluding the expropriation model the project is not resolving the difficulties the projects are facing today with the land owners who have judicialized the initiatives regardless the free ingress concessions issuance. This standpoint is based on the model the highways normally use which have not experienced major hurdles on this respect.
Some electric power companies agree with the latter position as they expected the land access problems were solved through expropriation methods.
