From October 2025 through September 2026, fossil fuels supplied more than two-thirds of Bolivia’s electricity consumption: about 69%, entirely from gas in the supplied data. Low-carbon sources provided the remaining 31%, or almost a third. Hydropower was the largest clean electricity source, supplying about a quarter of the total, while solar contributed around 3% and wind roughly 2%. Bolivia therefore remains heavily dependent on fossil electricity, with considerable room to expand clean generation and reduce the climate-changing emissions and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Bolivia?

The supplied figures do not establish whether Bolivia’s overall electricity consumption or generation is growing. They provide a recent electricity mix and selected changes in individual low-carbon sources, rather than a complete annual series for total electricity. Recent clean electricity results are mixed: hydropower increased by 0.5 TWh in 2024, but the 2026 entry shows a decline of 0.3 TWh. That decline is concerning, although it cannot establish a fall in total electricity generation. Comparing annual electricity totals would show whether supply is expanding sufficiently to support electrification and future demand, including from AI.

Suggestions

Bolivia can increase low-carbon electricity generation by expanding solar and wind alongside its existing hydropower, strengthening transmission, and considering nuclear power as part of its longer-term electricity strategy. Nearby Chile is a particularly relevant example: solar supplies about 24% of its electricity and wind another 14%. Uruguay demonstrates an even larger wind contribution, at about 31%, while Brazil generates around 14% from wind. These regional examples offer useful models for project development and grid integration. For nuclear electricity, Bolivia could study how France and Slovakia obtain roughly two-thirds of their electricity from nuclear, and how Armenia obtains almost 30%. Their experience can inform long-term planning, workforce development, and the institutions needed to introduce nuclear generation. Expanding these clean sources would help Bolivia meet rising electricity needs while reducing reliance on gas.

History

Bolivia’s recorded low-carbon electricity history is dominated by fluctuations in hydropower. The listed changes in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s were mostly modest increases or decreases of about 0.2 TWh. The mid-2010s brought sharper setbacks, including a 0.3 TWh decline in 2014 and a substantial 0.7 TWh decline in 2016, followed by encouraging gains totaling 1.5 TWh from 2017 through 2019. Hydropower then fell by 0.3 TWh in 2020, recovered by the same amount in 2021, and declined by 0.4 TWh in 2022. Wind added 0.3 TWh in 2022, providing a welcome contribution to clean electricity growth. Hydropower rose by 0.5 TWh in 2024 before the recorded 0.3 TWh decline in 2026, reinforcing the importance of sustained expansion across multiple low-carbon sources.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.