Mexico's KIO signs 10-year data center PPA with Celsia in Panama

Mexico-based KIO Data Centers has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Colombian energy company Celsia to secure electricity supply for its data center operations in Panama.

The deal is the group’s first disclosed data center PPA in Panama. Financial terms and supply volume details, however, were not disclosed.

KIO said the contract provides “energy certainty” through a long-term planning horizon that mitigates exposure to market volatility while also ensuring its infrastructure is prepared for high-density technology requirements linked to hyperscalers, AI and cloud services.

“This partnership positions KIO Data Centers as one of the providers with the highest level of energy certainty in the region,” the company said, adding that the agreement gives customers guaranteed power availability for the covered period.

The announcement comes amid heightened demand for data center capacity in Latin America, fueled by AI workloads and cloud expansion, which are placing increasing pressure on energy availability and grid planning.

Without detailing generation sources, KIO also highlighted the sustainability and resilience components of the deal, saying the agreement aligns with its responsible growth and operational efficiency objectives.

Footprint

Medellín-based Celsia, the energy arm of Grupo Argos, operates across the electricity value chain in Colombia, including renewable generation, gas-fired thermal backup, transmission, distribution and commercialization, as well as in Central America.

The company serves more than 1.3mn homes and businesses in Colombia alone. In Panama, the group has 38 customers through three hydro power plants in Chiriqui, two backup thermal power plants in Colón and one solar farm in Coclé. Celsia also manages nine solar roofs and four charging stations in the country.

At the end of Q1, Celsia had 2,231MW of installed capacity reported across its operations, of which 1,148MW was hydro, 590MW solar PV and 485MW thermal. In the quarter, consolidated revenue totaled 1.27 trillion Colombian pesos (US$344mn), a 12.4% decrease compared to the same period in 2025.

The company recently said it expects total capital deployment of around 1.3 trillion Colombian pesos this year, including more than 1 trillion pesos for assets under management and 280bn-320bn pesos in capex for its energy services business.

According to CEO Ricardo Sierra, approximately 60% of capex will be allocated to solar projects, 30% to transmission infrastructure and 10% to natural gas initiatives.

Outside Colombia, Celsia is targeting expansion mainly in Peru and Mexico, focusing on renewable generation and energy efficiency services.

KIO, for its part, currently operates 18 data centers across Latin America, including 12 in Mexico – six in the Mexico City metropolitan area, two in Querétaro, two in Monterrey and one each in Hermosillo and Mérida.

The company also has two operational facilities in Colombia, two in Guatemala and one each in Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Its latest regional expansion was the launch of a second facility in Guatemala, a project with 2MW of IT load that KIO said would quadruple the country’s installed data center capacity.

In September last year, KIO announced plans to invest US$400mn to expand its data center footprint across the markets where it operates.

More recently, the company announced it had started construction of a new Mexican facility, MEX8, in Mexico City.

The project, with estimated capex of US$70mn, is expected to deliver 4MW of capacity and was designed under international standards and energy efficiency criteria, operating with 79% renewable energy.

KIO has been owned since 2021 by infrastructure investment fund I Squared Capital, which recently acquired Brazilian operator Elea Data Centers.

(The original version of this content was written in English)