Energia Latina SA

What it is

Energía Latina — universally known as Enlasa — is Chile’s largest backup power generation provider, established in 2005. Its core job is to be electricity’s fire brigade: its business model is oriented to provide backup power to the national grid, making available flexible, fast-response generation units that provide grid security in case of contingencies or unavailability.

Through its main subsidiary, Enlasa Generación Chile, it operates four diesel-fired power stations — Teno (65 MW), Peñon (99 MW), San Lorenzo (69 MW), and Trapén (90 MW) — spread across Chile from the Lakes Region to the Atacama Desert, totalling roughly 323 MW of installed capacity. Alongside generation, it provides energy storage solutions, solar energy supply, and asset-management services including real-time monitoring and data analysis for third-party plants.

Who owns it

Insiders — directors and related parties — hold 61.6% of shares, while institutional investors hold a further 33.1%, leaving a free float of roughly 5%, according to EODHD data. One of the directors on Enlasa’s board also sits on the boards of Sigdo Koppers S.A. and is president of family holding company Empresas Villuco Group, pointing to the concentrated, industrialist character of the register; however, the precise identity and percentage of the single controlling shareholder are not fully disclosed in available public sources.

Who runs it

Jorge Brahm Barril serves as General Manager (CEO) of Enlasa, and Fernando del Sol Guzmán is President of the board. Del Sol entered Enlasa in 2008 as general manager, a role he held until 2019, when he moved to the board as a director.

The CFO is not disclosed in available sources.

The money, in plain words

Sales have been volatile: revenue fell 21.7% from CLP 46.8bn (US$51.6m) in 2023 to CLP 36.7bn (US$40.5m) in 2024, then recovered 15.4% to CLP 42.3bn (US$46.7m) in 2025 — swings that reflect how much Enlasa’s income depends on how often the grid calls on its backup units (our calculation). The net profit margin of 9.0% — nine pesos of profit for every hundred of sales — is thin for a power producer, partly because diesel generation is inherently high-cost fuel.

The return on equity of 4.1% is modest: owners earn about four centavos for each peso of capital they have in the business, which trails Chile’s risk-free rate and signals that the diesel-backup model alone does not create strong value. The balance sheet, however, is clean: ISIN CL0001839894 carries no reported financial debt, and cash on hand is CLP 413m (US$456k), leaving the company essentially unlevered (our calculation) — a real strength if it needs to borrow for growth projects.

What it is doing now

Through its 50/50 joint venture with UK firm Highview Power, called Highview Enlasa, the company is developing the first liquid-air long-duration energy-storage project in Chile: a 50 MW / 500 MWh facility in Diego de Almagro in the Atacama Region, representing an estimated investment of US$150m. The technology works by chilling air to −196 °C until it turns liquid, storing that liquid cheaply, then warming it back to drive a turbine — in effect, a giant rechargeable battery with no geographic constraints.

Enlasa’s first solar plant, Teno Solar, began operating in 2021; a second solar expansion and the Peñón Solar project (10.5 MWp) commenced construction in 2022.

What to watch

• Revenue stability: a 22% revenue drop in one year shows how exposed Enlasa is to dispatch calls from the grid operator; any move toward contracted, fixed-price power sales would reduce that risk.
• Highview Enlasa project progress: the US$150m Atacama storage plant dwarfs Enlasa’s entire market value of US$48m — if it advances to construction, it will require significant external financing and could reshape the company entirely.
• Return on equity: at 4.1%, the company is not yet earning its cost of capital; watch whether solar and storage assets, once operating, lift margins above the diesel baseline.
• Ownership transparency: with a free float of only ~5%, the stock is thinly traded; any change in the controlling bloc would move the price sharply.

This is news, not investment advice.