MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian electricity for Chile, why not?

Bolivia confirmed Wednesday that the bilateral dialogue with Chile includes possible energy integration, but ratified that the century old claim to a sea outlet tops the agenda.

Energy is one of the many "other issues" of the thirteen points dialogue "without exclusions" which was established last July in La Paz, underlined Bolivia's Foreign Affairs minister David Choquehuanca.

All issues of the agenda are being "addressed simultaneously" but Chilean officials are well aware that for Bolivia "the maritime issue, is essential, vital", he added.

Bolivia claims from Chile the restitution of a sovereign sea outlet to the Pacific which it lost during a war in 1879, when Peru was also involved in the loosing side.

Choquehuanca said that the other issues of the agenda are: building mutual trust; border integration; free flow of people and goods; economic complementation; defining border water sources; fighting poverty; security and defence; control of drug traffic; education and culture.

However the official admitted that President Evo Morales and his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet during the recent meeting at the IberoAmerican summit in Montevideo did address some of the issues, including "energy integration".

"This will be one of the main points on the table of the coming South American summit to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia next December 8/9", underlined Choquehuanca.

He also said there was "nothing definitive" over the possibility of selling electricity to Chile through a company in which the Bolivian state is an associate, but "it's always possible it could happen".

In effect the Bolivian government has for months been considering the possibility of selling electricity to Chile instead of natural gas since a 2004 referendum stated that gas could be used as a bargaining chip to obtain a maritime outlet, but this is an option Chilean authorities have rejected.

Jerjes Mercado, Bolivia's Deputy Secretary for Electricity and Alternative Energies is quoted by La Paz press saying that the north of Chile (where most of the copper smelting takes place) has "a solid power backup", but lacks "alternative energy sources", and Bolivia is a "serious candidate to become a significant provider".

Mr. Mercado insisted that Bolivia is ready to supply Chile with alternative energies, other than natural gas.

Last week Bolivia's Hydrocarbons Regulating Office extended a provisional license to the Bolivian company Ingelec to consider the possibility of supplying the north of Chile with electricity, where demand is estimated above 4.000 Megawatts.

Ingelec which has similar operations in the south of Bolivia expects to conclude the feasibility study by 2008.