Naturgy has reiterated its long term commitment to Panama with a planned investment of more than US$500 million between 2025 and 2027. The announcement was made during a meeting between the company’s global leadership and President José Raúl Mulino, one day after Naturgy Panama secured a US$300 million credit line from the European Investment Bank, backed by Spain’s export credit agency Cesce.
A Response To Existing Reliability Problems
Naturgy manages about 70% of Panama’s electrical distribution network, including more than 30,000 kilometers of lines across areas with challenging terrain. Despite this coverage, many regions continue to face recurring outages. Communities in Torio, Cambutal, and other rural zones often experience weekly interruptions, rapid fixes in some cases, but also outages that last several hours or entire days during scheduled maintenance.
These patterns highlight ongoing structural and administrative weaknesses in the grid, not just isolated technical failures. Public confidence has been affected, especially among residents and expats who depend on consistent power for work, communication, refrigeration, and essential electronics.
Long Term Investments And Strategy
Naturgy’s president, Francisco Reynés, noted that the company has invested more than US$1.6 billion in Panama since 1998 to reinforce distribution networks and develop renewable generation. The new US$500 million plan focuses on grid modernization, technological upgrades, and strengthening distribution in regions with the greatest vulnerability.
The company told President Mulino that it intends to remain a strategic partner in Panama’s energy development, aligning with national goals to ensure safer, more efficient, and more stable power supply.
National Coordination
The meeting also included Minister of Economy and Finance Felipe Chapman and ASEP administrator Zelmar Rodríguez Crespo, signaling that the modernization effort is being treated as a coordinated national priority. Naturgy says the objective is to reduce outage frequency, improve response times, and build a system capable of meeting Panama’s increasing energy demand.
Date written: November 16, 2025
