ATOME PLC (AIM:ATOM) said it is maintaining the original schedule for its $665 million Villeta fertiliser project in Paraguay as authorities work through changes to the country’s power tariff regime.
The update follows the revocation of Presidential Decrees 5306 and 5307, which had underpinned terms for a proposed new power purchase agreement.
Since then, the president of state electricity company ANDE has been replaced and Paraguay’s government has created a working group to reassess tariff regimes, seeking clarity on tariff levels in the first part of September.
ATOME said it remains an existing ANDE customer under a 145MW PPA signed in 2022 and subsequently amended.
Villeta’s power requirements are incorporated into ANDE’s planning through 2050, while the company said the new PPA had already been negotiated and its form agreed before the decrees were revoked.
The company continues discussions with relevant parties while separately taking steps to protect its interests. It is also continuing work with EPC partner Casale SA to preserve the original project timetable and expects to provide a further update by the end of August.
