Chilean National Energy Commission Adopts Blockchain Technology

Chile’s National Energy Commission, or Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE), has begun final preparations to launch a blockchain data initiative sometime this month. The initiative is an effort to record sensitive data on a distributed ledger for the purpose of securing and modernizing Chile’s electrical infrastructure. 

While details regarding this particular blockchain, referred to as “Open Energy,” are sparse, it has been made clear that the platform will be used to authenticate data such as “average market prices, marginal costs, the price of gasoline, [and] the compliance with the NCRE law, among others.”

According to CNE executive secretary Andrés Romero, the commission has been considering implementation of the technology for some time. “We have decided to use blockchain as a digital notary, which will allow us to certify that the information we provide in the open data portal has not been altered,” he intimated.

The open data portal referred to by Romero is a multifunctional website developed by the CNE that contains metadata statistics, indicators, maps, legal standards, studies and web applications of the energy sector, and more. 

In addition to providing data security, Romero hopes that Open Energy will also provide increased data integrity and transparency: 

“Public information is an important input for the decision making of investments and energy projects and many of our users use this information to decide technical, economic and labor aspects. That is why, through the use of this technology, we will raise the levels of trust of our stakeholders, investors and the general public that consumes the data delivered at www.energiaabieta.cl.”  

At time of press, above-listed web address returns an error page. ETHNews believes that http://energiaabierta.cl/ is the correct address.

Notably, Chile recently completed the construction of two large-scale solar farming projects and has increased its electrical generation capacity to more than 2GW, up from 1.829 in December, as reported by pv magazine, a photovoltaic-focused periodical. These power plants, known respectively as the 115 MW Santiago power plant and the 100 MW Pelicano power plant, were installed this past January. 

Chile seems to be keeping pace in the global competition to create a next-generation energy market. Other countries that are exploring blockchain use cases for the future of electrical power storage, transmission, and use include Australia, Germany, and the UK.

Jordan Daniell is a full-time staff writer for ETHNews with a passionate interest in techno-social developments and cultural evolution. Jordan enjoys the outdoors, especially astronomy, and likes to play the bag pipes and explore southern California on foot in his spare time. Jordan lives in Los Angeles and holds value in Ether.

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