IV.That the Public Services Regulatory Authority Law No. 7593 of August 9, 1996, declared the supply of energy in the stages of generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization to be a public service, noting its importance for the country's sustainable development.
V.That the Law on the Participation of Rural Electrification Cooperatives and of Municipal Public Service Companies in National Development No. 8345 of February 26, 2003, in its Article 3, declared the generation, distribution, and commercialization activities of electrical energy carried out by cooperative associations and municipal public service companies covered by said Law to be of public utility and interest.
VI.That the Law on the Participation of Rural Electrification Cooperatives and of Municipal Public Service Companies in National Development No. 8345 of February 26, 2003, in its Article 7, authorizes national and municipal public entities and companies of the National Electrical System (SEN), such as the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), to enter into business alliance agreements with cooperative associations and with municipal public service companies, such as the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago (JASEC), leading to the joint development and operation of electrical transmission works and services.
VII.That Law No. 7799 of April 27, 1998, Reform of the Law Creating the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago, in its Article 2, empowers it to provide the public services indicated in Article 5 of the Public Services Regulatory Authority Law.
VIII.That the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago, as an electrical energy distribution company, has a geographic area of 300 km² with 82,000 customers and approximately 300,000 inhabitants.
IX.That to supply the energy demanded by those customers, JASEC purchases energy from the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, this institution having only one delivery point, through the Concavas Substation, which represents a potential problem in energy supply, in aspects such as versatility, reliability, continuity, and redundancy in the electrical energy supply.
X.That to resolve the indicated situation and achieve an efficient and timely supply of electrical services, as part of the Government's policies for the country's development and the improvement of the citizenry's quality of life, on April 12, 2010, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago, based on Law No. 8345, signed the Lease Agreement with Option to Purchase for the Tejar Step-Down Substation, the easement (servidumbre) rights, and the tower sites for the expansion of the Río Macho-El Este 230 KV Line, which were to be incorporated into the National Interconnected System (SIN) in 2010.
XI.That the contract between the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago promotes a joint development policy that coincides with the National Development Plan 2006-2010 and 2010-2014, which will contribute to solving the country's energy problem for the coming years.
XII.That the social benefits of the Río Macho-El Este 230 KV Transmission Line Expansion are greater than the socio-environmental costs, given that JASEC will be able to have an additional energy feed point, which will make it possible to guarantee continuous supply to more than 82,000 subscribers and prevent the paralysis of essential service provision to more than 300,000 inhabitants.
XIII.That the Río Macho-El Este 230 KV Transmission Line Expansion works are located in the Province of Cartago, District 02 San Isidro, Canton of El Guarco.
XIV.That both the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago commit to making responsible use of natural resources and to complying with the environmental legislation applicable to the Río Macho-El Este 230 KV Transmission Line Expansion Project.
XV.That through Executive Decree No. 36096-MINAET of June 18, 2010, the construction of the Río Macho-El Este Transmission Line was previously declared to be of National Convenience in accordance with the provisions of the Forestry Law.
XVI.That with the receipt, on April 20, 2004, by the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA) of the Preliminary Environmental Assessment Form (FEAP), submitted by the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electrical Service of Cartago for the Tejar Step-Down Substation Project, administrative file No. 338-2004-SETENA was opened.
XVII.That in accordance with the attestations recorded in administrative file No. 338-2004-SETENA, the National Environmental Technical Secretariat communicated the need to incorporate into it an Environmental Management Plan for the Tejar Step-Down Substation, which was prepared by the University of Costa Rica and provided on March 2, 2005.
XVIII.That in addition to the Environmental Management Plan prepared by the University of Costa Rica and approved by the National Environmental Technical Secretariat, technical studies prepared by firms specializing in environmental matters, Inforest S. A. and Arcebre S. A., have been available, which ratify strict compliance with the Organic Environmental Law, the Forestry Law, and the Biodiversity Law, with existing studies determining that the social benefits of the project are greater than the socio-environmental costs.
XIX.That through resolution No. 1304-2006-SETENA of July 11, 2006, Environmental Viability (Viabilidad Ambiental) was granted to the Tejar Step-Down Substation Project for a period of two years, which was extended for an additional year through Resolution No. 2212-2008-SETENA of July 29, 2009; for this purpose, JASEC fully complied with the provisions of the General Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment (Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental) Procedures according to Executive Decree No. 31849-MINAE-S-MOPT-MAG-MEIC.
XX.That the environmental assessment and the approval of Environmental Viability by SETENA are the result of the use of the appropriate instruments established in current environmental regulations, which have served as a technical-scientific tool for decision-making for the issuance of this Executive Decree. Therefore,
They Decree:
DECLARATION OF NATIONAL CONVENIENCE OF THE WORKS FOR THE ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION OF THE RÍO MACHO-EL ESTE 230 KV TRANSMISSION LINE