Chile is known throughout the world as one of the stirring success stories of the developing world, a country that sped past other nations confronted by similarly daunting circumstances thanks to its rejection of statism, its embrace of the marketplace and the ability of its people to tap its extraordinary resources.

In May 2010, by officially joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Chile successfully fulfilled the first and foremost requirement to apply for membership in the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Chile es conocido en todo el mundo por ser una de las impresionantes historias de éxito del mundo en desarrollo, un país que superó rápidamente a otras naciones confrontadas con circunstancias igualmente desalentadoras gracias a su rechazo al estatismo, su adopción del mercado y la capacidad de su pueblo para utilizar sus extraordinarios recursos.

En mayo del 2010, al unirse oficialmente a la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), Chile cumplió con éxito el primer y más importante requisito para postular a ser miembro de la Agencia Internacional de Energía (AIE).

Over the last decade or so, electricity supply in Chile has lurched from crisis to crisis. The trouble started in the late 1990s when, in the face of one of the worst droughts in a century, staggered blackouts had to be imposed as hydroelectricity ran short.

For a country rich in natural resources like Chile, it seems odd that electricity should be so costly and controversial. But flicking the switch has become increasingly expensive over the last decade and Chile’s future economic competitiveness is threatened. There are different opinions about how Chile should adjust its mix of energy sources to reduce costs and improve supply security, but a national debate is shining a spotlight on future scenarios.

So how expensive is electricity in Chile?

Once written off as marginal a couple of decades ago, clean energy is now a booming global business.

The rising cost of fossil fuels, growing concern about carbon emissions and their impact on global warming and worries about energy security have led governments around the world to consider the need to develop alternative energy sources.