October 29, 2025

With the aim of placing the energy transition at the center of public debate, Acen, Acesol, and GPM, together with Centra – UAI Energy Transition Center – the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, and the Business School of Adolfo Ibáñez University, organized the discussion “Challenges of the Energy Transition and Modernization in Chile,” sponsored by WEC Chile.

Claudio Seebach, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences at UAI, delivered the opening remarks.

Industry Associations

Following this, Darío Morales, Executive Director of Acesol, highlighted the role of “distributed energy resources” in people’s quality of life. “We have sought to bring to the table topics that are slightly different from those typically discussed in the energy sector. We are interested in advancing everything related to understanding distributed energy resources and, above all, how energy can substantially improve the quality of life for users,” he mentioned.

Likewise, Mauricio Utreras, CEO of GPM, emphasized that “at this moment, not only is the development of the energy sector at stake, but also public trust in this sector. We hope that this event will enrich the conversation and help us continue to move forward promptly with the long-term development of the electricity sector.”

For his part, Eduardo Andrade, executive secretary of ACEN, stated that “it is timely to urge the next administration to allow more SMEs, and hopefully residential users as well, to participate in a free market with lower costs and better and more services. This must be accompanied by an update to the regulations, especially in distribution, since if decisive progress is not made on this task, the consequences will fall on those with fewer resources.”

Presidential Campaign Teams

The panel discussion included José Venegas, from José Antonio Kast’s campaign; Carlos Barría, from Evelyn Matthei’s campaign; Miguel Iglesias, from Johannes Kaiser’s campaign; and Nicolás Bohme, from Jeannette Jara’s campaign.

During the meeting, key topics were addressed, such as the modernization of the electricity market, the need to strengthen the energy system, and the role of renewable energies in the country’s sustainable growth.

More than 120 people attended the discussion in person, while 597 connected remotely, reflecting the high interest of the sector in these topics.