2024-07-18 18:22:02
ENERGY
The Ecuadorian Electric Corporation (CELEC) plans to recover 463.7 megawatts of electricity generation by 2026. The plan includes leasing barges, purchasing mobile energy, and boosting the country’s thermoelectric park, among others. The country’s electricity generation deficit is 475 megawatts by 2024.
Ecuador has an installed capacity of 6,500 megawatts, but the maximum power it operated last year was 4,811 megawatts, in December 2023.
Since then, until April 2024, Ecuador has recovered a generation capacity of 220 megawatts and is currently operating with 5,063 megawatts, said Fabián Calero, manager of Celec. To recover the remaining capacity, emergency solutions are planned in the medium and long term.
Among the main immediate solutions, Celec is proposing to incorporate a 110-megawatt power generation barge, which consists of a power generation plant on a ship. This infrastructure will be leased and will arrive in the country before the end of July, said Roberto Luque, former Minister of Energy (act), in an interview.
In addition, it is planned to purchase containerized generation or mobile generation. This consists of containers installed with a turbine and a 5 or 3 megawatt generator, said Fabián Calero.
These mobile solutions will be installed in Santa Elena, Quevedo, Salitral and Esmeraldas. The power to be installed will depend on the capacity of each location. The time to acquire these devices is between 90 and 120 days, he added.
Immediate solutions also include increasing the import of natural gas to optimize the operation of Termogas Machala, which is currently operating below its optimal capacity due to the limited availability of gas./ El Telégrafo