The Turkish floating power plant, rented by the Government of Ecuador, went into commercial operation shortly before the first eight-hour blackout nationwide, which was scheduled by the Government for Wednesday night, given the severe drought that has affected the country’s hydroelectric park.
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This was reported on Tuesday by the state-owned Electric Corporation of Ecuador (Celec) in a statement, in which it specified that the The Emre Bey ship currently provides 100 megawatts of effective power to Ecuador’s national electrical system.which distributes energy to the entire country.
The vessel has been in experimental operation since September 8 and is currently connected to the Las Esclusas substation, located south of the southwestern port city of Guayaquil, the source added.
Celec also indicated that it has signed a “modification contract” with the company Karpowership, of the Turkish energy group Karadeniz, so that the vessel is moored in a different dock than planned, but that offers better conditions for anchoring.
The Emre Bey had difficulty mooring at a dock located in front of the Las Esclusas substation, due to the strength of the current in the Guayas River estuary.
This vessel, which has a length of 179 meters and currently sails under the Liberian flag, It was recently converted into a floating power plant after being built in 2001. and originally operated as a cargo vessel under the name Transfighter.
The rental of this floating power plant is part of the actions undertaken by the Ecuadorian Government to improve generation and support the national system in the face of the drop in production at hydroelectric plants due to the drought.
When will the first blackout take place?
The power cuts scheduled by the Government will be of eight hours long, from 10:00 p.m. local time (3:00 GMT) to 6:00 a.m. local time (11:00 GMT). The first blackout will take place this Wednesday, and the following ones have been scheduled by the Government for the following week, from Monday to Thursday.
This is the third period of blackouts that Ecuador will endure in less than a yearafter one that occurred at the end of 2023 and another that occurred in mid-April of this year, due to climatic factors that affected the country’s main hydroelectric plants.
Unlike previous periods of power rationing, where power cuts occurred during the day at different time slots and in different areas, this time they will cover the entire country at the same time and will take place at night.
It is estimated that each hour of electricity rationing causes losses of around 12 million dollars in the country.according to an estimate by the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
EFE
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