Loss Of Cariblanco
Could Mean Blackouts In
The Coming Months
Pedro Pablo Quirós,
president of the
Instituto Costarricense
de Electricidad (ICE),
admitted that the energy
network in the country
is fragile and with the
Cariblanco hydro
electric generating
station offline, there
is no reserve to cover
the loss, especially
during the peak months
of March and April.
The Cariblanco hydro
electric station,
located in Sarapiquí de
Alajuela, was damaged in
the January 8, 6.2
earthquake and according
to ICE engineers, will
be offline for about one
year.
Cariblanco was
responsible for the
production of 82
Megawatts of the more
than 2.000 Megawatts
that makes up the energy
network, and a crucial
contribution to maintain
energy security.
A day after the
earthquake, ICE
authorities said that
the institution had
sufficient capacity to
replace the loss of the
Cariblanco output.
However, that positive
expectation is now being
replaced by the reality
of the fragility of the
situation.
ICE officials now say
that if 100% of the
generating equipment in
the country is fully
operating, there will be
no problem. However, if
one or more of the
generating plants fail
"“Eso sí sería torta,
habría problemas", said
the ICE president.
Quirós added that we can
make it through the
summer, but any hiccup
and it will mean
blackouts.
The situation is being
compared to the summer
of 2007 when March and
April of that year were
filled with blackouts,
planned and not, when
the three generating
plants at Moín, San
Antonio and Barranca
failed.
The January 8 earthquake
also took out the
private generating
plants of Suerkata and
El Ángel out of service
with a combined
generation of 7
Megawatts.
Last October, ICE had
announced a program of
blackouts for the summer
of 2009, saying it did
not have enough money to
buy fuel to power the
generators, looking for
approval for a hefty
raise in rates. The
regulatory authority
approved only a 15%
raise, much lower than
the 49% ICE had asked
for, which takes effect
by the end of the month.
Now, the problem is not
financial, but rather
capacity. "It is still
there, a permanent
dynamic contingency
program, in case
anything happens", said
the ICE president with
reference to the October
plan.
Another factor creating
problems for ICE is the
unexpected increase in
demand for electrical
energy.
Quirós admitted that the
entire energy network is
on the knife's edge
because investment in
electric production in
the last nine years has
been light.
"We should have two 200
Megawatt dams for
safety", said Quirós,
referring to the Arenal
dam which should be
functioning as a
reserve, rather than a
full production
facility. |
