Five challenges to energy efficiency in the region

Energy efficiency is a clean, low cost solution to the increasing demand for energy in Latin America. It seeks to obtain the same benefits of the current consumption, using fewer economic and energy resources through technological improvements and process innovations, but also through changes in the energy consumption patterns. 

Although successful experiences have been observed, energy efficiency is not a priority in the region's political agenda. Until now, initiatives have been isolated, and there is no cross-cutting vision of energy efficiency as a comprehensive part of the countries' energy policies. 

The loss of energy is a costly phenomenon, and Latin America registers the highest  electricity losses in the world, of around 14 percent of the total generation. Each percentage point represents close to 500 million dollars annually, which are wasted due to technical causes such as mechanical limitations, and non-technical causes, such as traffic congestion. These inefficiencies in the generation and distribution of energy may be corrected by energy efficiency policies. 

The publication "Energía: una visión sobre los retos y oportunidades en América Latina y el Caribe" (Energy, a view of the challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean) points out that the development of said policies faces a series of challenges that, in broad terms, may be summarized in five points:   

1. Make energy efficiency a component of the countries' energy policy.
2. Integrate the Latin American energy market to achieve economies of scale that facilitate the introduction of technologies and energy efficiency standards.
3. Establish authorities who are responsible for the execution and compliance with the energy savings goals and the mainstreaming of the energy efficiency approach.
4. Establish goals and indicators that quantify the follow-up of energy public policies.
5. Guarantee financial resources for long term energy efficiency programs.