Overview
- Following the post‑election reset, the Energy Secretariat reopened the process to renew private operation of the Alicurá, El Chocón‑Arroyito, Cerros Colorados‑Planicie Banderita and Piedra del Águila dams.
- Bids are due on November 7, 2025, and the government expects to award the concessions before year‑end to ensure continuity under updated conditions.
- The framework preserves private management under stronger state and provincial oversight, with Neuquén and Río Negro able to take up to 10% equity.
- A new water‑use canon will be charged, and a defined share of revenues will fund hydraulic works prioritized by the Inter‑Jurisdictional Basin Authority (AIC).
- Authorities will closely review companies’ legal and arbitration records, citing AES’s more than US$700 million 2025 award as a precedent that warrants careful adjudication.