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Panama’s energy authority has just presented a national plan for investment in the energy sector for the next fifteen years. According the Secretaría Nacional de Energía’s plan Panama will invest more than two billion dollars over that time to stay ahead of increasing energy needs. Panama’s economy is growing with foreign investment and the growth of the Panama real estate sector is placing higher demands on Panama’s electric grid.

The proposed investments will include over a billion dollars for power plants and over two hundred million in bio-fuel projects. The rest of the money will support transmission lines and transformer stations.

According the Secretaría Nacional de Energía there are 17 projects that will be ready between 2009 and 2012 that will increase today’s power generation capacity by two thirds, from 1,500 megawatts to 2,500 megawatts. The highest power usage recorded in Panama was just over 1,000 megawatts.

As recession plagues the world Panama’s economy is growing and the Panama real estate sector is still building new homes. Thus Panama’s energy consumption is still going up. As the recession wanes and North American, European, and Latin American buyers come back in higher numbers to buy real estate in Panama we can expect to see increasing demands on the power grid. Property in panama is likely to benefit.

Besides the plan noted above Panama is working on connecting its power grid with Colombia’s and later with a Central America wide grid. Despite current problems with getting credit Panama will continue to build hydroelectric dams so that when the cost of oil goes back up the bite taken out of Panama’s pocket book will be less.

All in all it appears that Panama is wisely projecting its energy needs as its economy expands and before the real estate boom in Panama re-ignites in a couple of years. ABPanama expects to see a return of more North American buyers as the recession rights itself in the USA over the next year or so.

Even in a recession not everyone has lost money. For those with cash the current pause in the high end of the real estate market is a buying opportunity. The foundation of Panama’s real estate boom was low prices of real estate and low cost of living. Some of this has been replicated thanks, or no thanks, to the recession.

The point of Panama’s investment in its electric generation capacity is that when things are booming again Panama will need to maintain a comfortable reserve capacity of electric generation to avoid brownouts. The development of an electric grid with Colombia, and later with the rest of Central America will help protect Panama’s ability to turn on the lights in all of its new real estate projects.

The development of more hydroelectric stations will protect Panama against the eventual rise in oil prices. One can envision an eventual electric commuter train system in Panama City as an answer to its transportation needs with the power coming from the rain that falls in the interior and is carried to the sea on her Rivers.