The provincial Minister of Energy provided an update on the repairs and replacement of equipment in the Ushuaia electricity generation and distribution system, which has been affected in recent weeks by severe maintenance problems.
The Minister of Energy of the province, Alejandro Aguirre, offered a report on FM Master’s on the urgent measures that are being taken to improve both the generation and distribution of electricity in the capital of Tierra del Fuego.
One of the initiatives is the incorporation of a 7 megawatt (MW) mobile generation fleet, made up of seven units that operate with liquid fuel, mainly diesel. According to the minister, “A mobile generation fleet of 7 MW is being incorporated, because that is what these seven units generate. They are liquid fuel, diesel and what they allow is to incorporate greater generation in another point of the city that is not the plant, to supply and increase the generation that the Ushuaia plant has.This new fleet of vehicles will be located at a strategic point in the city, at the National Highway distribution centre, to reinforce the electricity supply and relieve the load on the main power plant, located in the industrial park.
The arrival of these equipment is expected between Monday and Tuesday of next week, and complementary works are currently being carried out to prepare the site. The equipment has been rented for a period of four months, in a strategy similar to that implemented in other cities that have faced power cuts, such as Buenos Aires.
The purpose of incorporating these temporary generators is to cover the energy demand that increases during the final months of winter. Aguirre stressed the importance of this measure, pointing out that “it allows us to incorporate greater generation to cover the demand we are experiencing now at the end of winter.”
In addition, efforts are being made to finalize the acquisition of the control panel for one of the most critical pieces of equipment, the Rolls Royce turbine, which is part of the power plant’s generation fleet. This equipment is vital for the operation of the system, and funding is being arranged for its repair, as well as for the repair of other equipment operating at the plant.We are moving forward with the finalization of the acquisition of the Rolls Royce control panel. We are also coordinating and are quite advanced, with the possibility of financing for the repair of the Generation Park where the power plant is located. There are ten pieces of equipment working there and one is the Rolls Royce.“Aguirre explained.
Winter has been particularly critical for Ushuaia’s electricity system, with peaks in demand testing generation and distribution capacity. According to the minister, “We now have this peak demand, and the idea is to cover it in these four months to try to avoid these cuts that we have had at different times, either due to increased consumption or limitations in generation.«.
Planning includes the possibility of extending mobile equipment rentals, in case more time is needed to carry out repairs at the central plant.
The minister also anticipated that the new equipment will be operational during peak hours: “They can be running for up to five hours at peak times, which is after 5 or 6 pm until 10 pm.“He said. These hours coincide with the moment of greatest demand on the system, when the city requires its maximum energy capacity.
Despite the challenges, Minister Alejandro Aguirre expressed moderate optimism about the situation, acknowledging that “Unfortunately, it has been a very difficult winter because the infrastructure failure was evident, due to the services that the different teams have that have had failures in the distribution.«However, he highlighted the progress made in recent months in the acquisition of equipment and the modernisation of the distribution centre. In particular, he mentioned the work at the Torelli distribution centre, in the city centre, which received new equipment a month ago and is expected to be completed between October and November. «As it is part of a project, the certificates have already been paid and we estimate that the work on the distribution centre will be done by October or November,» he said.
Finally, the official mentioned that, with the arrival of the Siemens control panel, which has already been built, maintenance and commissioning work will begin on the Rolls Royce turbine and other equipment, taking advantage of the low demand expected in the coming months.In this process of already low demand, we estimate that we can begin with the maintenance and commissioning work on the Rolls Royce and the repair of other equipment.“, he concluded.
The series of measures adopted underlines the interest of the provincial government to ensure the stability and efficiency of the electricity supply in Ushuaia, while the city faces the typical complexities of its winter season.
