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VOL 12 | NUM 38 | 10 April 2026
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CHILE | 30 March - 5 April 2026
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Power Markets Weekly
is a brief weekly review of the electric market operation in Chile, Mexico, Iberia, France and Italy. If you are not a subscriber, please feel free to subscribe
here
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DNV offers tools for Wholesale Market analysis and operation:
- DNV Power Analytics (DNV-PA) is our web-based platform that provides access to constantly updated long-term energy price forecasts.
- With a refined design and an improved user experience we are upgrading our digital services for our customers.
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Cerro Dominador (CSP) comes back after 3 years of unavailability
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The average price in Polpaico was USD 38.4/MWh, down 9% from last week and 50% lower than the same week in 2025.
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Marginal cost evolution in Polpaico during past years
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Regarding the generation mix, this week thermals decreased in their overall participation in the system, given a fall in gas of 2.0 pp in its share, while coal and gas remained mainly stable. Hydro sources showed a mixed behavior, while run-of-river fell by 0.3 pp, dam increased its participation by 0.5 pp.
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Concerning renewables, both solar and wind went up by 1.5 pp and 0.5 pp, respectively. Additionally, CSP plant Cerro Dominador (108 MW installed capacity) began energy injection tests to the system, adding up 355 MWh of renewable energy to the mix between Friday and Saturday.
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The system peak demand of the week reached 10.9 GW on Monday at 2 PM, where wind and solar accounted for 75.4% of generation at that time. Meanwhile, BESS penetration across the system continues to grow, with peak injections reaching 1.9 GW on Monday at 9 PM, setting a new record.
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Generation Mix
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Variation
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Power range by energy sources (average prices)
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Geothermal
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Cogeneration
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Biomass
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Coal
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Gas
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Oil
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BESS
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Dam
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Run-of-river
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Wind
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PV Solar
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CSP
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This week, except Monday and Friday, price decoupling was frequently present due to the congestions on the lines detailed below:
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- 500 kV Pan de Azúcar - Polpaico line congested on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, causing the decoupling of the system from Pan de Azúcar to the north where renewables set the marginal cost. Conversely, south of Polpaico, marginal costs were set mainly by gas and dam generation sources, causing a slight increase in the average nodal prices.
- 220 kV Lastarria - Ciruelos line congested only on Wednesday for short periods of time, decoupling Puerto Montt from the rest of the system, pushing the nodal price up.
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The preliminary peak price of the week among reference nodes was USD 186.7/MWh, recorded in Crucero on Tuesday at 7:45 AM while the entire system was coupled.
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Crucero
USD 36.5/MWh
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Cardones
USD 35.4/MWh
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Pan de Azúcar
USD 34.8/MWh
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Polpaico
USD 38.4/MWh
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Charrúa
USD 37.7/MWh
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Puerto Montt
USD 38.9/MWh
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Solar and Wind production & BESS dispatch
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Solar generation increased by 4% | 17.1 GWh compared to last week. Regarding the plant factor, the highest was 25.0% in Charrúa, while the lowest was 16.6% in Crucero. The system-wide solar plant factor was 19.2%.
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Wind output increased by 2% | 4.0 GWh relative to last week. The highest plant factor was 29.5% in Charrúa, while the lowest was 14.4% in Cardones. The system-wide wind plant factor was 21.4%.
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BESS injection showed an overall decrease of 5% | 4.3 GWh, mainly driven by a 7.1% | 4.8 GWh decline of injections in the Crucero area, despite of an increase of 40.4 % | 1.6 GWh in the Polpaico area.
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This week, curtailment rates reached 10.3% | 27.8 GWh for wind and 13.9% | 72.6 GWh for solar. This resulted in a combined system-wide curtailment rate of 12.5%, which represents a decrease of 4.1 pp relative to last week.
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Crucero
USD 3.4/MWh
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Cardones
USD 2.7/MWh
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Pan de Azúcar
USD 1.7/MWh
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Polpaico
USD 12.7/MWh
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Charrúa
USD 12.6/MWh
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Puerto Montt
USD 17.6/MWh
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Energy weighted average spot price using PV production by zone
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Crucero
USD 25.2/MWh
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Cardones
USD 39.9/MWh
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Pan de Azúcar
USD 35.8/MWh
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Polpaico
USD 47.6/MWh
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Charrúa
USD 39.5/MWh
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Puerto Montt
USD 41.0/MWh
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Energy weighted average spot price using wind production by zone
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BESS discharge capture price
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Crucero
USD 57.1/MWh
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Cardones
USD 57.4/MWh
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Pan de Azúcar
USD 58.5/MWh
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Polpaico
USD 51.4/MWh
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Charrúa
USD 33.8/MWh
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Energy weighted average spot price using BESS discharge by zone
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BESS charge capture price
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Crucero
USD 1.0/MWh
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Cardones
USD 0.6/MWh
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Pan de Azúcar
USD 0.2/MWh
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Polpaico
USD 15.1/MWh
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Charrúa
USD 23.9/MWh
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Energy weighted average spot price using BESS charge (both from co-located power plant and from grid) by zone
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DNV, Magdalena 181, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
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