INE will also approve and oversee energy concessions. The National Energy Commission will develop an expansion plan for power generation, designed to illustrate how investments might best fit Nicaragua's resources and needs. The state may subsidize investments in distribution for remote areas which are not commercially viable. Distribution companies cannot generate electricity or vice versa. In theory, distributors will be able to use the dispatch center to purchase electricity based on lowest marginal cost generation.
Isolated generators can own distribution and transmission networks.
Such a license can be issued for up to thirty years. Licenses are also needed for other kinds of generation as well as transmission. INE also must approve natural resource concessions, as well as concessions for distribution. There are no tariff controls on sales between generators, cogenerators, distributors, and large consumers. The law also exempts tax on imported fuels used for electricity generation.