ICE Rents Generators To Avoid Shortages
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the state monopoly on electrical energy and telecommunications, reports to have rented two thermal electrical generating plants from the private sector.

The generators can produce some 24.3 megawatss of power and is part of ICE's contingency plan to avoid rationing of electrical service, similar to what is going on with the neighbour to the north, Nicaragua.

The cost of the rental of the generators is ¢20 billion colones over a three year period and belong to the Grupo Pujol-Martí.

ICE says that the generators will save the institution money, since the generators use "bunker fuel" which is a lot cheaper  than diesel fuel that is used by generators owned by the institution.

Bunker fuel is technically any type of fuel oil used aboard ships. It gets its name from the containers on ships and in ports that it is stored in, called bunkers.

ICE says that in the three months of April to July this year, the rented generators have meant a savings of us$2.5 million dollars, generating 43.9 megawatts per hour of energy, running at 70% capacity.

"The cost of operating the Gruop Pujol generators is much lower that ours" assured Javier Orozco, an official of the Expansión Integrada del Sector Eléctrico del ICE..

According to ICE figures, the power generated by ICE's diesel generators is three times the cost of the energy generated by the Pujol generators.

The cost of diesel fuel is ¢354 colones per litre, the price as set by the other state monopoly, the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope). In contrast, a litre of bunker fuel costs only 
¢189 colones or ¢165 colones less.

The move by ICE to rent the Pujol generator is strictly a measure to deliver a constant flow of electrical energy and avoid blackouts, a common occurrence up to a few years ago, said Orozco.

The decision to rent came at the end of 2005 after ICE experienced delays in the construction of the Garabito generating station that will produce, when built, some 120 megawatts of energy using diesel generators.

The Garabito station was to have come online this year. Delays pushed back the project to 2008 and with more possible delays foreseen as the contractor who won the bid for the construction is now refusing to sign the contract.