Bolivia

Getting Electricity in

Bolivia

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building in Bolivia.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

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  • Standardized Company

  • Name of Utility: Electropaz
  • City: La Paz

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 The Electrical Engineer of the Customer obtains a seal ("sello de conformidad") from the Colegio de Ingenieros Electricistas y Electrónicos de La Paz (CIEE).

The customer has to ensure that the internal wiring installations are in compliance with the relevant standards established by the Norma Boliviana 777 (“Diseño y construcción de las instalaciones eléctricas de interiores en baja tensión”) for low voltage internal wiring installations. To that end, the electrical engineer who is in charge of the internal installations has to submit the installations plans and an estimate of the required electricity load to the Colegio de Ingenieros Electricistas y Electrónicos de La Paz (CIEE) to obtain a seal ("sello de conformidad") for the plans. This stamp is issued after one of the Engineers of the CIEE has reviewed the electrical plans against the electrical norms. No inspection is required in the context of the approval of the plans.
Agency: Colegio de Ingenieros Electricistas y Electrónicos de La Paz (CIEE) 		2 calendar days BOB 910.0
2 The customer sends a note to Electropaz indicating the required load profile of the new connection and awaits the preparation of an estimate

The customer has to inform Electropaz of the required electricity demand and provide the contact information of the engineer in charge of the works.
Agency: Electropaz S.A. 		14 calendar days no charge
* 3 Receive external inspection by Electropaz

Electropaz inspects the premise to establish the relevant connection point and to prepare a technical report on the material needed for the new connection. It is preferable that a representative of the customer is present at the time of the inspection. Electropaz will give technical instructions on the works that need to be carried out in order to ensure that the internal installations comply with the Norma Boliviana NB 777 and the internal service regulations of Electropaz. If everything is in order the customer will receive right away the necessary specification for the materials that need to be bought and installed for the external connection part.
Agency: Electropaz S.A. 		7 calendar days no charge
4 The customer purchases material for the connection (distribution transformer, meter and current transformers) that complies with the norm

The customer has the choice of buying relevant material such as meter, distribution transformers and current transformers himself in return for a lower consumption tariff (approximately 5% below the regular tariff) or he cannot buy the materials and Electropaz provides them. The majority of clients opts for the first alternative and buy the material themselves.
If the connection is for factories, industrial buildings or larger office buildings or hospitals the customer has to provide the necessary material to connect the building to the medium voltage grid in any case. In case the connection is for residential or apartment buildings, Electropaz will provide the material. If the area where the building is located is outside the city limits the customer also has to present the authorization for excavation works in public spaces of the relevant Municipal body. Within the city limits, Electropaz will obtain such authorizations itself.

Agency: Local business 		11 calendar days USD 14,000.0
* 5 The customer obtains an excavation permit for the laying of the underground cable

The customer has to obtain an excavation permit for the opening of the road required to lay the underground cable. The excavation permit cannot be obtained in the context of the initial construction permit for the building.
Agency: Municipality 		2 calendar days no charge
6 The customer's electrical contractor does the civil works in preparation for the connection and builds the chamber of the distribution transformer

The customer's contractor prepares the transformer chamber. Once the chamber is finalized, the transformer will be transported to the site and tested to ensure it complies with the norms of the utility. The client or his sub-contractor also have to obtain a permit from the Municipality to open the roads for the last part of the connection works. The permit is free of charge and can usually be obtained within 2 working days. Once the client has concluded the civil work, he has to inform Electropaz. One of Electropaz's employees will then do an inspection and issue documents DRYNS-04 and DRYNS-05 to certify that the works were done in accordance with the standards of Electropaz. A representative of the customer should be present during this inspection.

Agency: Sub-contratista 		7 calendar days USD 7,000.0
7 The customer submits the official service application in writing, indicating that the preparatory works have been concluded and awaits that Electropaz issues a supply contract for his signature

The customer submits the official application in writing, indicating that the preparatory works have been concluded. Electropaz will issue an application in the system. The client has to include in the application the future consumption profile, the peak demand (in kW) for the purpose of the billing. He also has to attach an identification document for the person signing the supply contract, a copy of his power of attorney for the company he represents and a copy of his tax registration number ("Numero Tributario de Identificación"). The application will only be accepted if the customer has no pending debts with Electropaz. Two payments have to be made: one for the connection and a small security deposit.
Agency: Electropaz S.A. 		2 calendar days USD 21.2
8 The customer signs the supply contract and awaits that Electropaz finalizes the connection works

Once the application has been approved (formulario DRYNS-05) Electropaz programs the execution of the final connection works and the customer can sign the supply contract. Electropaz installs the transformer and the meter and the electricity starts flowing.
Agency: Electropaz S.A. 		6 calendar days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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