This largely reflects the region’s strong economic performance and, in some countries, a shift in the sector composition of GDP towards more electricity-intensive activities.7 Current per capita electricity consumption in the region (2,150 kW), while still far below the level in developed countries, suggests sustained growth of consumption in the next few decades, as has happened in other developing regions such as Asia or Africa (IEA, 201 la). These differ widely between countries, and it is impossible to analyse each one in this chapter, but certain key measures are highlighted which have contributed to investment in new capacity, particularly in the generating segment, in the region’s largest economies. Under this system, the firms that bid the lowest electricity prices are awarded a contract to sell energy to the distributors.8 With the resulting 20-year income guarantee, the firms constructed generating plants with good financing conditions, which, together with the availability of good hydro and wind resources in Brazil, enabled them to make auction bids to supply energy at 67 reais (USS 59) per MWh for large hydroelectric plants in 2010, and 102 reais (USS 59) per MWh for wind and hydro and gas energy in 2011.