The Daniel Noboa Administration hopes to count on the support and alliance of private companies for the insertion of projects and the contribution of energy to the integrated system by disconnecting during peak demand hours.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines of Ecuador launched a contracting plan for 750 megawatts (MW) of new electric power generation, and also plans to incorporate an energy efficiency campaign in which those who reduce their electricity consumption will be compensated. Likewise, the Government hopes to count on the support and alliance of private companies for the insertion of projects and the contribution of energy to the integrated system by disconnecting during peak demand hours.
All of this is part of the plan that is being implemented to deal with the drought that was anticipated before its expected arrival, in a context where there has been a lack of financing for the electricity sector and there is an urgent need for rapid energy contracting, since the installation of new energy due to its contractual and installation processes usually takes a period of two months.
This was stated by the Minister of Energy, Antonio Goncalves, during an interview with Teleamazonas , this Wednesday, August 21, in which he did not rule out the possibility of blackouts due to the climatic and hydrological situation that the country is facing, due to the drought that began a month earlier than expected.
However, the official estimated that the investment for the acquisition of the 750 MW of new energy generation will represent between US$ 900 and US$ 1,000 for the State.
The order followed by this process is in the market survey phase for the hiring of the barge, in which interested parties are presenting their proposals until Friday, August 23. “Everyone can indicate how long it will take them to arrive, the cost per kilowatt,” said Goncalves.
The tender for these contracts, which cover 750 megawatts, is made up of the rental and purchase of energy. The rental includes 200 MW. For now, the barge of the Turkish company Karpowership, which is in the Las Esclusas sector in Guayaquil, plans to begin operations on Monday, August 26, and will deliver 100 MW to the integrated system for 18 months, said the minister.
The tenders will be launched on September 2, and the Turkish company Karpowership will be one of the interested parties to offer the barges that the Government needs. “Karpowership or any other company that has those 200 megawatts could apply, what we are going to reward is time, as quickly as possible, that has more weight in the evaluation to be able to select,” said the minister.
He added that the two bidding processes will begin on September 2 for the rental and purchase of new generation.
Regarding the possibility that Karpowership, which has shown interest, could be chosen again, Goncalves explained that they have to apply and go through the same process as the rest of the bidders and interested parties: “It is obviously a fairly large company, they have a fleet that is all over the world, it is in 12 countries in Latin America, it is no secret, and they are sending other barges to the region because unfortunately some countries are in this energy emergency and that solution is a quick solution that we can add to the system; so, it will surely participate, I cannot guarantee it, we will know once we have the tender in the system,” he said.
The need for 200 MW implies the rental of one or two barges, “they could be two 100 MW barges or one 200 MW barge,” said Goncalves, who expects the arrival of this barge to occur in November, based on previous experience with Karpowership.
Regarding the purchase of new energy generation, this will be dual thermal units, which will be located in five different locations, their generation capacity is around 80 to 120 MW and they will be located in El Salitral, Esmeraldas and Durán. The official explained that the idea is for these new generators to be dual, looking at the exploitation of gas in the Amistad field.
This technical specification will help later on, once we have a production of more than 20 million cubic feet of gas, to be able to use the same machines.
Likewise, the Government will also launch the rental of 40 MW for Termogasmachala with machinery that would be installed working in Machala additionally.
Regarding the 1,080 MW deficit mentioned by the National Electricity Operator (Cenace), Goncalves pointed out that 341 megawatts have already been contracted and with this additional purchase the Cenace deficit is covered. But he indicated that the problem is that we are against the clock because the dry season has come early and these purchases have a deadline of two months until they are installed.
Energy efficiency campaign
The Government will launch an energy efficiency campaign with two aspects, the first aimed at saving in homes, businesses and industries, with a reduction in rates. For example, Goncalves said that if in October 2023 you had consumption and in October 2024 it was reduced, the user will receive a discount. The other aspect is that private companies that have their generators voluntarily support by turning on the generators during peak hours, disconnecting from the grid, freeing up that energy supply.
"We believe that if there is support for this campaign, we will greatly reduce and mitigate the risk of water shortages during the drought we are facing," said the minister.
Goncalves did not rule out the possibility of blackouts. He said that it is possible that blackouts could occur, but that they are working to ensure that this does not happen. Therefore, they carry out daily checks of the reservoirs and flows so that these cuts do not occur, “but given the tremendous hydrology that is occurring now, it is not guaranteed,” he added.
In this regard, he was emphatic in stating that one of the preventive strategies was to conserve the Mazar reservoir as much as possible, but now it will have to start being used to meet demand.
In addition, Colombia decided a few days ago to restrict the export of energy to Ecuador, as it has a drought similar to ours, and now they are only selling thermal energy based on fuel. And in the event that Colombia has an energy problem, it will suspend the export of electricity to the country.
Goncalves reported that Ecuador is paying around 30 cents per kilowatt hour, whereas before Colombia limited the delivery of energy, the rate was 16 cents. This is because thermal energy is more expensive.
For Goncalves, this highlights the regional energy crisis and the lack of good planning in countries on the path to energy transition. He stressed that this crisis will last two to three years and that in order for this energy crisis to be successfully covered, he pointed out that the actions being taken in the medium term include the introduction of other renewable energy systems supported by the private sector.
In the long term, the plan is to attract investment to have geothermal plants in Ecuador, "to regain energy sovereignty, which we lost a few years ago and will be without for a couple more years until we have a stable base of geothermal energy," he said.
Geothermal energy is the energy obtained by harnessing the Earth's internal heat, which can be used to generate electricity. It is also considered a clean and inexhaustible energy, according to the Catalan Energy Institute's website.
