Costa Rica’s Free Trade Zone sector and top business chambers have issued an urgent call to the Legislative Assembly to accelerate the debate and approval of structural reforms in the energy market.

For this sector—one of the most dynamic engines of the Costa Rican economy—having competitive electricity rates and a secure energy supply is a matter of life and death to retain and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Prominent associations such as the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP), AmCham, and the Costa Rican Free Trade Zone Association (Azofras) agree that the global window of opportunity presented by nearshoring is narrow.

The Core of the Demand: Energy Competitiveness

Companies operating under the free trade zone regime, which range from advanced medical device manufacturing to massive data centers and infrastructure linked to Artificial Intelligence, are experiencing an exponential increase in electricity consumption. Business leaders warn that the current regulatory model presents challenges that jeopardize national competitiveness against direct regional competitors:

  Critical Operating Costs: Energy represents one of the most significant operating costs for tech-heavy industries. Elevated rates or unforeseen indexations reduce the attractiveness of the local ecosystem.

  Availability of “Firm Energy”: Although Costa Rica enjoys an exceptionally renewable energy matrix, the private sector emphasizes the urgency of ensuring sufficient stability in energy flow during peak demand periods for 24/7 industrial plants.

  Halting Rate Increases: Industrial groups have repeatedly expressed concern over upward rate adjustment pressures from state-owned enterprises like the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), arguing that any increase immediately erodes job hiring margins.

The Proposal: Electricity System Harmonization Law

The key initiative strongly backed by the productive sector seeks to completely modernize the rules of the Costa Rican electricity market. The fundamental pillars defended in the legislative reform outline three structural axes:

1. Greater Efficiency and Flexibility

Allowing regulatory frameworks that optimize energy purchasing, generation, and distribution to genuinely lower final costs applied to commercial and high-voltage industrial consumers.

2. Legal Certainty for New Investments

Clearing up grey areas in the regulatory framework so that sophisticated manufacturing corporations can project their energy costs over the medium and long term with absolute legal certainty.

 3. Market Clarity: Harmonizing is Not Privatizing

Business chambers have stepped forward to dispel myths surrounding the legislative bill, firmly clarifying that the proposal does not seek to dismantle or privatize ICE, but rather to flex and update the system to align with contemporary global demands.

A Clean Energy and Computing Hub

The debate holds unprecedented strategic relevance amid the global semiconductor and technology landscape. Sector analysts point out that Costa Rica possesses a unique competitive advantage: the ability to offer clean electricity (from hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind sources) combined with sophisticated human talent. However, this advantage fades if the prices of green energy exceed the standards of markets competing for the exact same investment capital.

“Delaying this decision would mean continuing to lose competitiveness, investment, and development opportunities for Costa Rica. The time to act in the Legislative Assembly is now, if we want to remain a leading country in attracting high-tech foreign investment.”

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