Ecuador and Colombia restore their electrical systems

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In a statement, he noted that at 5:56 p.m. local time (22:56 GMT), after carrying out permanent efforts from the National Electricity Operator (Cenace) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines “the Colombian and Ecuadorian”.

“These types of actions allow us to improve the security of the Ecuadorian electrical system,” says the letter without further details.

The interim Minister of Energy and Mines of Ecuador, Roberto Luque, indicated last Friday that the operators of the national electrical systems of both countries were in talks at a technical level to evaluate an eventual reconnection “as soon as possible”.

Although Colombia had already suspended the export of electricity to Ecuador By not having surpluses and having all its generation focused on supplying national demand, Luque explained on Friday that the Colombian authorities had disconnected its electrical system from that of Ecuador.

After having spoken with his Colombian counterpart, Andrés Camacho, Luque explained that Colombia cut off the interconnection because, despite the shipment of energy being suspended, the electrical systems They absorb some energy from the other country through those high voltage lines.

“As they have a larger network, we tend to suck more energy with these cuts,” said Luque, who pointed out that this situation occurs especially when the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the most powerful in the country, is out of operation. with 1,500 megawatts, which in recent days had precautionary stops due to excess sediment in its catchment area.

“No one was passing electricity. Neither from Ecuador to Colombia nor from Colombia to Ecuador. It is another issue of signal stability or frequency, it is convenient for us to be connected“said the minister on Friday, who specified that the intention is to resolve the matter amicably.

Since Sunday, April 14, they began cause power outages for several hours a day, whose hours vary depending on the area and sectors. This Sunday the cuts were suspended in the country, but they will resume tomorrow, Monday.

The main cause of the crisis is the drought of the Mazar reservoir, the second largest in the country, with a capacity of 410 million cubic meters of water, where a complex of three power plants are operated along the Paute River basin. hydroelectric plants, which allow generating up to 1,757 megawatts and meet around a third of the national electricity demand.

EFE