The Minister of Energy says that more has been invested under the current regime than in the last seven years. Celec declared the contracting of 928 MW in emergency.
That in ten months the Government of Daniel Noboa “has invested five times more” than all the Governments of the last seven years is the statement that the Minister of Energy and Mines of Ecuador, Antonio Goncalves, has repeated in recent days, regarding the actions undertaken to confront the energy crisis, in the midst of the massive blackouts of eight hours a day scheduled for September.
The official confirmed that the current regime, in less than a year of management, will buy and rent 1,200 megawatts (MW) of energy. He said this in an interview on Radio América, on the morning of Wednesday, September 18.
The country has an energy deficit of 1,080 MW, according to the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC). Given this reality, Carondelet has offered to accelerate multimillion-dollar contracts to meet the growing demand for energy, at a time when one of the worst droughts is taking place, which puts the operation of the Mazar reservoir in Azuay at imminent risk.
The new generation that has been incorporated into the National Interconnected System (NIS) is the 100 MW barge Emre Bey, from the Turkish company Karpowership, which began commercial operation on Tuesday, September 17. The rental contract for the Turkish vessel amounts to $114 million.
The barge had problems that prevented it from anchoring in the Las Esclusas sector, in the south of Guayaquil, making it difficult to connect to the Las Esclusas substation.
At the moment, Karpowership's contribution is the only concrete thing in terms of new generation that is already in operation.
On the other hand, the Minister of Energy explained, in an interview on Teleamazonas, that “341 MW have already been tendered, signed and are in the process of arriving.” And he announced that another 240 MW thermal barge should arrive in the country in October.
The tender for the second barge, which will also be located in Guayaquil, was entered into the Public Procurement System (Sercop) on September 17 as part of the “emergency needs” to serve the electricity sector. The Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC), through its Electroguayas business unit, is in charge of the contracting.
The reference price for the rental of the floating thermoelectric generation solution, with a capacity of 200 MW to 240 MW, amounts to more than US$ 316 million, according to the information available on the Sercop portal. Interested companies have until Thursday, September 19 to submit their offers; the awarding of the supplier is scheduled for Sunday, September 22.
The plan is to contract around 800 MW, including the second barge, which would be commissioned by April 2025, Minister Goncalves said on September 17, during a tour of Mazar, due to the arrival of members of the Armed Forces to guard the facilities.
At the event, the official mentioned that part of the 800 MW is “a fixed component” made up of land-based generators, which will run on diesel and gas; the intention is that in the future the gas from the Amistad field can be used. Another part corresponds to rent, “because the urgency is immediate” due to the growth in energy demand.
Apart from the contracts planned by the Government, private sector companies have contributed up to 300 MW of self-generation, alleviating the situation. Companies turn on their own generators when there is a shortage or rationing, as part of the government campaign.
Celec declares emergency to contract 928 megawatts
The rental of the second 240 MW barge is one of nine contracts for 928 megawatts that are included in Celec's emergency declaration.
The provision was adopted through a resolution issued on September 16. The document states that the country's electricity sector "faces an emergency situation" due to climatic factors that have occurred during the months of July, August and so far in September 2024, "as a result of the extreme drought in the Amazon basin, and which have caused extremely low inflows to the large hydroelectric generation plants located in the Amazon basins in the country."
These conditions have led to “historic lows” in reservoir levels, which in turn has led to “a reduction in energy availability” from hydroelectric plants.
“The hiring of floating and emerging land-based generation will allow us to address the generation deficit risks identified by Cenace in the dry periods of 2024-2025 and 2025-2026,” the resolution states, and highlights that in this way the generation supply will be increased.
The bidding processes will be carried out by Celec's business units: Electroguayas, Machala, Hidronada, Termomanabí and Termopichincha. The values of the nine contracts are not specified in the emergency declaration.
