Nicaragua

Getting Electricity in

Nicaragua

Listed below are the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building.

The information appearing on this page 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 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Name of Utility: DISNORTE - DISSUR
  • City: Managua

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Getting Electricity page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 The customer submits an informal application with DISNORTE-DISSUR to establish the feasibility of the project

The customer submits a first informal application to DISNORTE-DISSUR indicating the required electricity load and the location of the business that is to be connected. The Planning Department of the utility will prepare a feasibility study based on its own plans for the primary distribution lines in Managua and the existing demand in the system. No inspection of the site is necessary if the connection point is within 150 meters.

Agency: DISNORTE - DISSUR 		7 calendar days no charge
2 The client obtains a compliance certificate regarding the internal wiring from the official or the voluntary Fire Department (Dirección General de Bomberos and Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos, respectively)

The customer has to obtain a certification of the internal wiring installations from the Fire Department. The Fire Department (Dirección General de Bomberos ) certifies that the internal wiring has been done in accordance with the relevant standards for buildings as specified by the ""Norma CIEN"" (Código de instalaciones Eléctricas de Nicaragua). This certification has to be obtained before applying for a new electricity connection with the utility.


Agency: Direcciòn General de Bomberos 		7 calendar days USD 86.3
* 3 The Fire Department (Dirección General de Bomberos or Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos) inspects the internal wiring installation

In order to prepare the certification of the internal wiring the Fire Department (Dirección General de Bomberos ) will visit the site.

Agency: Direcciòn General de Bomberos 		1 calendar day no charge
4 The customer hires a private firm to prepare the design for the connection works and to carry out the actual works

DISNORTE-DISSUR has a list of approved firms that will realize the design of the actual connection works. In order to be part of the list, firms have to be approved every year by the utility. In most cases the design is done by the same firm that also will later do the works.

The works are done according to the relevant standards. They can be done either by a construction firm or an approved electrical design firm. The customer can decide who he wants to delegate the works to. The works are supervised by the technical department of the utility. The utility will also approve the designs that have been prepared by the approved firm and work hand in hand with the executing firm.




Agency: Contratista Privado 		48 calendar days USD 17,025.0
* 5 The customer submits in person the design and the service application at DISNORTE-DISSUR and awaits that the utility approves the design plans

The customer submits the service application together with the designs in person. The following documents have to accompany the application:
• Name, address and telephone number of the applicant
• Photocopy of national identity card or power of attorney
• Photocopy of the property title or rental contract
• Inspection certificate from the Fire Department indicating that the internal wiring installation complies with the norms established by the CIEN (Código de instalaciones Eléctricas de Nicaragua).
• Photocopy of the social security number or business registration number of the customer (RUC - Registro único del contribuyente)
• Photocopy of the company registration of the firm (used to assess which electricity tariff is applicable).

Agency: DISNORTE - DISSUR 		30 calendar days no charge
6 DISNORTE-DISSUR installs the meter and energizes the project

Once the works are finalized, the meter and metering accessories are installed by the distribution utility and remain property of the utility. The meter is installed in a location that can be accessed from outside the premise of the customer for inspections and meter reading. Otherwise the customer has to given a written consent that the distribution utility can enter the premise.
The customer has to deposit a security that is calculated on the basis of one month of the future consumption of the customer. The security deposit is returned with interest (average deposit rate in the country) after 18 months if the customer had no late payment in this period.

Agency: DISNORTE - DISSUR 		14 calendar days NIO 15,851.8
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Explore Economy Data