The Eighth Plenary Meeting of the Regional Forum of Energy Planners (FOREPLEN) was successfully held on June 5–6, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro. The event took place at the offices of the Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), coordinated by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with support from the European Union’s GET.Transform programme.

On this occasion, FOREPLEN was held in parallel with the Second Meeting of the Regional Council for Energy Planning of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). This joint implementation strengthened the strategic alliance between ECLAC and OLADE, further bolstered by the support and collaboration of the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil.

The event brought together representatives from 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, along with technical experts and energy sector specialists from the region, and ECLAC’s strategic partners. In addition to the OLADE team, participating organizations included the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Regional Energy Integration Commission (CIER), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

During the sessions, ECLAC presented its Methodological Study for Resilient Power Planning in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will serve as the basis for the first virtual course on Resilient Power Planning, scheduled for the last quarter of 2025.

ECLAC also shared the results of a diagnostic survey on the institutional planning capacities of countries in the region—an essential input to guide future technical assistance and knowledge-generation activities.

In addition, working groups were held to advance the development of a regional guide for the formulation of energy transition plans in Latin America and the Caribbean. This guide will be prepared by ECLAC within the framework of FOREPLEN, in collaboration with national technical teams.

At the closing of the event, Mr. Martín Abeles, Director of the Natural Resources Division at ECLAC, emphasized that this edition of FOREPLEN consolidates the forum as a permanent space for technical dialogue, peer learning, and institutional cooperation. He reaffirmed ECLAC’s commitment to working in coordination with other agencies and international organizations to continue supporting the countries of the region through technical assistance, capacity-building, and knowledge generation. All of this aims to strengthen energy planning and promote a just and sustainable transition aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, he highlighted the value of coordinating the meetings of the Regional Forum of Energy Planners (FOREPLEN) and the Regional Council for Energy Planning, given the synergies generated between both spaces.