IDB and EIB will finance US$ 250 million for the Ecuador-Peru electrical interconnection

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will finance with 250 million dollars the works on the Ecuadorian side for the electrical interconnection between Ecuador and Peru, with the construction of a 500,000 volt line.

The total cost of the project will be US$289 million to build 280 of the 550 kilometers needed between the two countries, therefore both the EIB and the IDB will contribute credits of US$125 million, while the rest will be paid for by the Corporation. Electric Company of Ecuador (Celec).

This was detailed in a press conference by the general manager of Celec, Gonzalo Uquillas, who hopes to sign the loan with the IDB in July and with the EIB in August, after it is approved in a board of directors scheduled for July 12.

Uquillas pointed out that there will be a synchrony between the two countries, since they hope that by the end of July the state Agency for the Promotion of Private Investment (Proinversión) of Peru will be able to award the corresponding works on the Peruvian side.

The award of the works in Ecuador is expected to take place in October 2024, so that the works can be completed in the first half of 2027.

“Electric Highway”

Once these works are completed, Uquillas assured that Ecuador will have a “electric super highway” 800 kilometers at 500,000 volts from the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest in the country, with a power of 1,500 megawatts, to the border with Peru.

“The electrical and energy matrices in both countries are complementary. The matrix of Peru is particularly strong in the presence of natural gas, and in Ecuador it is strong in hydroelectricityUquillas said.

In this sense, the general manager of Celec highlighted that Ecuador’s electricity demand is supplied by 94.7% of renewable energies such as hydroelectric and wind power.

Likewise, he valued the importance of being able to establish the electrical interconnection with Peru, something that Ecuador already has with Colombia since 2003, which allows energy to be exported or imported according to the needs of both countries.

“Today we export 5,392 megawatts to Colombia. This is good because it means foreign currency income for Ecuador. Last month Celec sold energy to Colombia for more than US$9 million and this month we expect to reach US$12 million”, detailed Uquillas.

exportable energy

According to Celec data, between February and May Ecuador exported more than 180,000 megawatts to Colombia, while it only sold 2,117 megawatts to Peru, through the existing radial connection, which does not allow the transmission of large amounts of electricity.

For his part, the Minister of Energy and Mines of Ecuador, Fernando Santos Alvite, explained that “electrical integration allows complementing each other and thus avoiding supply problems”, and gave the example of the import of 450 megawatts from Colombia that allowed the past dry season to pass without problems.

“It is one of the steps on the path of integration. We are brother nations culturally, historically and geographically. The borders are simply artificial and the peoples are one“, he claimed.

Santos Alvite assured that “electrical integration (between Ecuador and Peru) is irreversible” and that will transcend any political change that results from the extraordinary general elections scheduled for August in Ecuador.

“The next Government would have to make the respective tenders to contract the works. We left the project on track through the Celec board of directors, with both external financing and the Ministry of Economy and Finance”, he concluded.

Source: EFE