Endesa announced that the company expects to begin work as soon as 2015 on the first 370MW unit of its Punta Alcalde coal-fired power plant. Endesa expects to take 1.5-2 years to complete the tenders, obtain the remaining permits, and for regional authorities to approve the environmental impact study for the electrostatic precipitator (ESP), which will be installed at a nearby iron ore pellet plant, according to Endesa's regional planning manager Sebastián Fernández. Work on the first unit will last four years, with commercial operations slated to begin in 2019 at which point development of the second unit will be evaluated.

The plant will inject power into the supply-constrained northern part of Chile's main SIC grid, creating significant cost savings and paving the way for mining development, according to Fernández. Punta Alcalde's approval will allow for the development of several projects included in Atacama region's USD 35 billion mining project portfolio. The lack of energy supply in the region is one of the major factors holding back development of mining projects.