Before the imminent phenomenon of the child to the country, Celsia prepared in advance to guarantee the availability of its thermal and hydro generation plants, taking into account that this climate control can stress the electrical system due to water scarcity.
The company has advanced preventive maintenance of equipment and machinery of its hydroelectric and thermal power plants, in order to tune them up and optimize operating conditions during the period of least rain.
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Celsia also made advance maintenance of thermal plantsstill without reaching the hours of operation necessary to schedule the works, in order not to coincide with a possible period of shortage in the second semester of 2023 and the summer of 2024 (January to April).
For these dates the thermal plants become more relevant, since They are the ones that with their generation give reliability to the system. Thermal maintenance depends on factors such as hours of operation and/or number of starts of the machines.
Likewise, it was carried out reservoir management (Salvajina, Prado and Calima) to increase the level of its water reserves and guarantee compliance with its energy delivery commitments with the National Interconnected System (SIN).
Tesorito Thermal Power Plant
thermal plants, Tesorito (200 megawatts) and Meriléctrica (164 megawatts)have Gas Purchase Option contracts that support the Firm Energy Obligations provided.
In both cases, the fuel contract is in force with delivery to the plant and no risk is identified in the supplysince the suppliers have not reported situations that could jeopardize their delivery during the period of scarcity of rains.
According to Celsia, All the company’s plants are prepared with an inventory of spare parts and critical materials available in own warehouses; Likewise, strategic suppliers have the necessary stock to supply important elements.
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Calima Hydroelectric Plant
No ‘significant’ hikes
Celsia stated that the clients that they serve in the Valle del Cauca and Tolima «will not be significantly affected» due to the variation in prices on the energy market, which is expected with the arrival of the El Niño phenomenon.
The company assured that purchase in advance most of the energy that will supply them, with long-term stable contracts outside the stock market mechanism. Currently, Celsia is approximately 94 percent contracted for the year.
(Also read: Enel Colombia sells its thermal plant in Cartagena to focus on solar and wind energy)
commitment to solar energy
The reliability or stability of the system depends on other sources of generation such as hydro and thermal.
The use of solar energy that the company has achieved in recent years, both in farms connected to the SIN, as well as self-generation plants in companies, will be relevant at this juncture of the El Niño phenomenon.
Today Celsia has 14 farms connected to the SIN or that meet the demand of companies, which together will reach 200 megawatts. Of these projects, in the first half of 2023, seven solar farms totaling 89.3 megawatts were put into operation: Melgar, San Felipe, Dulima, Yuma, Flandes, Buga-1 and Palmira-3.
The company also has running two solar farm projects in andalucia and puerto tejadathat total 30 megawatts.
It is important to bear in mind that this type of generation depends on the radiation and hours of the sun, therefore, it is a complement to the matrix, but you cannot depend on it because solar radiation is variable.
«The reliability or stability of the system depends on other sources of generation such as hydro and thermal plants,» Celsia points out.