Nicaragua
With a power score of 1.81, Nicaragua ranks number 50 among emerging markets and number 77 in the global power ranking.
- Emerging markets
- Latin America
1.81 / 5
Power score
+9 places
Global power rank change
Overview
Nicaragua has a power score of 1.81, which puts it at rank 77 in the global power ranking, and rank 50 in the emerging markets power ranking. In comparison to 2021, Nicaragua has improved in the power rankings by 12 places, from rank 89, to rank 77.
At 1.81, the power score of Nicaragua is the same as the regional average of 1.81 in the Latin America region.
Regional power score comparison
Power
Power policy
Nicaragua implements policies in 4/6 power policy categories tracked by Climatescope, including Renewable energy target, Renewable energy auction, Feed-in Tariff, Net Metering, Import tax incentives, VAT incentives.
Power policies
Power prices and costs
The average electricity price in Nicaragua has dropped from 201.15 USD/MWh in 2021 to 199.87 USD/MWh in 2022. Since 2017, the average electricity price in Nicaragua has fluctuated between 199.87 USD/MWh (2022) and 233.13 USD/MWh (2020).
Power market
The top amount of capacity installed in Nicaragua in 2022 was in Oil & Diesel at 53.96%, down from 54.62% in 2021. The technology with the biggest increase in capacity installed in 2022 was Geothermal at 10.17%, up from 9.5 in 2021.
Installed capacity (in MW)
Electricity generation (in GWh)
The largest electricity generating technology in Nicaragua in 2022 was Oil & Diesel, generating some 33.45% of electricity, up from 30.48% in 2021.
Investment in clean energy in Nicaragua was around $37 million in 2021, an increase of 1661.9% from 2019 ($2.1 million). Between 2019 and 2021, the highest investment in clean energy was in 2021 at $37 million, while the lowest was in 2019 with $2.1 million.
Utility privatisation
Which segments of the power sector are open to private participation?
Type
Question
Availability
Wholesale power market
Does the country have a wholesale power market?
Doing business and barriers
Type
Question
Availability
Currency of PPAs
Are other PPAs (eg. corporate PPAs) signed in or indexed to U.S. Dollars or Euro?
Type
Question
Availability
Bilateral power contracts
Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?
Type
Question
Availability
Fossil fuel price distortions - Subsidies
Does the government keep the wholesale price of electricity from fossil fuels artificially low through subsidies?
Type
Question
Availability
Fossil fuel price distortions - Taxes and carbon prices
Does the government significantly increase the wholesale price of electricity from fossil fuel through targeted taxes and/or carbon prices?
Transport
Transport policy
Nicaragua implements policies in 2/9 transport policy categories tracked by Climatescope, including Clean transport target, National ICE phase-out, EV purchase grant/loan incentive, EV VAT reduction/exemption, EV import tax reduction/exemption, EV income tax reduction/exemption, EV recurring tax reduction/exemption, EV charging infrastructure target, E-bus target.
Transport policies
Type
Question
Availability
Fuel economy standards
Does the country have a fuel economy standard in place?