In October, there would be a power outage, and the necessary measures have not yet been taken to mitigate this danger.
October to March is the dry season in the Amazon rain regime; the hydroelectric plants in Oriente will not have enough water for production. Then the rains begin on the coast, but there is only one important hydroelectric power plant, Minas-San Francisco. Daule-Peripa has a large dam, but its purpose is irrigation and flood control; it retains water when too much rain falls on the coast. There is also a third hydroelectric plant, Toachi-Pilatón, which has been under construction for thirteen years and is not ready.
Considering the hydropower insufficiency, hydrocarbon-based production is necessary. However, the state did not maintain, and even renovated the outdated thermal power plants, and they cannot be counted on to work when needed. The production deficit is estimated at around 500 MWh during peak hours. Such a situation already existed last year, but energy worth 70 million dollars was purchased from Colombia, thus avoiding mass blackouts. This year, Colombia has not been able to supply us with energy because the El Niño that has been announced and which brings us floods in Colombia is causing a drought.
The context is a rigidly nationalized electricity system, inefficient, corrupt public utilities, and a central government that is gobbling up revenues to satisfy its growing bureaucracy and not allocating enough for investment by state-owned companies.
The first thing to do is to remove obstacles for private companies to invest in their own production. The will of the Government for this already exists, but the laws and regulations are full of obstacles that discourage investments. For residential consumers to install solar panels, for companies to install their own hydroelectric or thermal power plants, and for self-producers to sell their surpluses to others without the need to collect permits.
As far as the state is concerned, as far as we know, the rehabilitation plan for the emerging thermal power plants is not underway. The Termo Machala plant could produce 252 MW, but is far from that because it has been short of gas due to mismanagement of the Amistad field since EDC, bullied, sold its rights to the state in 2010. Correato reportedly invested $600 million looking for gas, but production has fallen. Now it is necessary to hire gas to complete what Termo Machala needs, for which a tender must be announced that attracts bids. Don’t get involved in faulty calls that have been canceled in favor of, at the last minute, a contract with some dodgy supplier willing to deliver gas on lion’s terms: something like the Correato crude oil sales contract.
In the medium term, it requires private investment. It is inexcusable that in two years the Government failed to grant concessions for the further development of the Amistad field or to sign contracts for hydrocarbon exploration in the Gulf, while companies interested in gas exploration took risks.
The state must replace outdated diesel plants with new gas plants. Concession the Monteverde terminal and let the concessionaire adapt it to receive methane. Concession for the construction of new hydroelectric power plants. Reduce the electricity subsidy.
We are still five months away from the dry season, we can’t waste time. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
