Published on Monday, January 29, 2024
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Electricity Institute (ICE) plans to supply electrical power for the first time to around 238 communities in rural areas of the country.

The project had a budget of more than $45 million, which the ICE financed.

Over the next four years, the authorities plan to provide electricity to remote rural towns such as Turrubares in San José Province, Upala in Alajuela Province, Jiménez in Cartago Province, Sarapiquí in Heredia Province, Nandayure in Guanacaste Province, Buenos Aires in Puntarenas Province and Talamanca in Limón Province, among others.

To power around 2,600 homes, the infrastructure required over 250 miles of electrical wiring, hundreds of concrete poles and electric power transformers.

Costa Rica's energy grid covers 99.38% of its territory. However, the Public Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep) revealed that, as of September 2023, more than 10,000 homes still lack access to power.

The initiative to provide power to isolated rural areas is one of Costa Rica's most recent infrastructural projects. Recently, authorities inaugurated the electricity service for the first time in Chocolata town, located in Liberia Canton, Guanacaste Province.

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