Right-of-way for transmission lines and gen-ties in Chile
A line crosses many parcels, each with its own owners, title and Conservador de Bienes Raíces. We identify every owner along the route, negotiate an easement with each one and prepare the parcel data an electric concession needs where an owner will not agree.
Two routes to the right-of-way
We negotiate with every owner first and keep the electric concession for the parcels where there is no agreement.
| Topic | Negotiated easement | Easement under an electric concession |
|---|---|---|
| What it can coverNote 1 | Any lawful use agreed with the owner: the line and its towers, access roads, a substation or a switchyard. | Transmission lines, substations, hydroelectric plants and distribution. Never the site of a solar or wind plant, or a battery yard. |
| How it is grantedNote 2 | By public deed with each owner, recorded with the Conservador of the comuna where the parcel lies. | A definitive concession gives its holder the right to impose easements to string the line and occupy the land it needs. |
| PriceNote 3 | Agreed with each owner, together with the route, tower positions, entry terms and repair of damage. | Agreed with the owner or, failing agreement, set by an appraisal commission appointed by the SEC, Chile’s electricity and fuels regulator. |
| The owner’s sayNote 4 | The owner can refuse, and the route has to move. | Notified owners can object before the SEC, within a legal deadline and on limited grounds. |
| Holder’s deadlineNote 5 | The one agreed in the deed. | Six months from publication of the concession decree to start the easement steps, or the right to impose them lapses. |
| Possession of the landNote 6 | On the terms of the deed. | Once the appraised value is paid or deposited, a judge can put the holder in possession, even with claims pending. |
New works in the national transmission expansion plan that require a corridor study (Estudio de Franja) follow a third procedure, with strategic environmental assessment. The decree that sets their final route creates the easement by operation of law (LGSE, arts. 93, 94 and 97).
How we run an easement program along a route
Your Chilean counsel or ours reviews and signs off on every legal document.
1. Corridor and parcel map
- What we do
- We map every parcel the corridor crosses, with tax roll numbers and apparent owners, and flag existing lines, mining concessions, indigenous land, native forest and border zones.
- What you receive
- A parcel map of the corridor, so the route can be adjusted before anyone is contacted.
- What we need from you
- Route alternatives and tower spacing from your engineers.
Timing Depends on the length of the corridor and the number of parcels.
2. Title along the route
- What we do
- We order certificates from the Conservador of each comuna the route crosses and trace the chain of title for every parcel, including estates, co-owners and prior easements.
- What you receive
- A land matrix for the whole route, with the certificates attached.
- What we need from you
- Your choice of project counsel, who reviews our findings and signs the title opinion.
Timing Depends on the number of parcels and Conservadores; a long line crosses several comunas.
3. Owner-by-owner negotiation
- What we do
- We negotiate with each owner in route order, on consistent terms, so no owner holds out for what a neighbor got.
- What you receive
- Easement deeds signed and recorded, and a written record of every negotiation.
- What we need from you
- Commercial parameters, and approval of each draft before it reaches an owner.
Timing Depends on the number of owners, holdouts and unsettled estates.
4. Concession backstop
- What we do
- Where an owner will not agree and project counsel requests a concession, we provide the parcel and owner data for the easement plans and follow the objection and appraisal stages.
- What you receive
- Parcel and owner data for the concession filing, and the negotiation record for each parcel.
- What we need from you
- Your concession filing, submitted by project counsel.
Timing Statutory periods: 30 days for notified owners to object (LGSE, art. 27 ter) and 30 days to challenge the appraisal (LGSE, art. 68).
5. Construction
- What we do
- We record the condition of fences, gates and roads before works start, coordinate entry with each owner and settle damage claims against what each easement provides.
- What you receive
- Condition records before and after the works, and a log of claims with how each one was closed.
- What we need from you
- Your construction schedule and a contact at your contractor.
Timing Follows your construction schedule.
6. After commissioning
- What we do
- We keep the easement register, coordinate maintenance access with each owner, watch for works under the line and track changes of ownership along the route.
- What you receive
- An up-to-date easement register, with notice of each new owner along the route.
- What we need from you
- Notice of maintenance campaigns and of any change in the line’s ownership.
Timing Ongoing, for the life of the line.
Easements on our own property
On Estancia El Chañar, our property in La Higuera, more than ten utility and access easements held by different grantees have been recorded since 2008, including those of the four 220 kV lines that cross it. We negotiated them and coordinate each holder’s access for construction and maintenance.
If you need land for a substation, a switchyard or a line route in the Coquimbo Region, our property may fit. If it does, we say so at the start, and in that conversation we act as the landowner, not as your advisor, and project counsel is your own.
Frequently asked questions
Does a gen-tie need an electric concession?
No. A line can be built without a concession if the developer prefers (LGSE, art. 4), on easements negotiated owner by owner. A concession gives the right to impose easements where an owner does not agree (arts. 14 and 51). A gen-tie above 23 kV and longer than 2 km enters environmental review on its own (DS 40/2012, art. 3).
How is easement compensation set when there is no agreement?
By an appraisal commission (comisión tasadora, often called the comisión de hombres buenos): three professionals from a SEC registry, drawn by lot and paid by the concession holder. It excludes any value the works add to the land. The owner receives the value of the occupied land plus 20%, damages and a transit indemnity (LGSE, arts. 63, 69 and 70).
What happens if one owner on the route will not sign?
The route moves around the parcel, or project counsel requests a concession for the line. Notified owners then have 30 days to object, and only on the grounds the law allows, such as asking that existing lines be used; other objections are dismissed outright (LGSE, arts. 27 ter and 53). We keep the negotiation record either way.
What must the owner allow once the line is in service?
Entry for the holder’s identified inspectors and workers to repair the line, with their materials; if the owner asks, a judge sets the time and manner (LGSE, art. 56). The owner may not plant, build or carry out other works that would disturb the easement (art. 57). A negotiated deed can add gates, notice periods and repair terms.
Does IFC Performance Standard 5 apply to line easements?
It can. IFC Performance Standard 5 does not cover voluntary land transactions, but it does cover negotiated agreements where the buyer could resort to compulsory procedures, and it treats easements and rights-of-way as land acquisition (paras. 5 and 6, note 2). In our reading, a line that can request a concession is in that second group.
Related insights
- Transmission line and gen-tie easements in Chile: concession route or negotiated route
When each route fits, the deadlines the law sets and what an owner looks at when a tower is discussed.
- Title due diligence in Chile for energy projects
The Conservador registers, the certificates to order and how far back the chain of title goes.
Send us the route or the corridor
Voltage and length, start and end points, the regions it crosses and whether a concession is planned.
We sign a non-disclosure agreement before we receive any documents.