Lower water generation and the shutdown of Bocamina I (for maintenance) and Bocamina II (by court order) explain the difference. AES subsidiary is number one in the country.

Endesa’s electricity production falls 7.5% in February and Colbún and Gener are close behind

(Pulse) Endesa is by far the largest generator in the Central Interconnected System (SIC) in terms of installed capacity, but in recent months it has seen its electricity production fall sharply.

So much so that during February its net generation fell by 7.5% compared to the same month in 2013, remaining very close to Colbún, the second company in the SIC in terms of installed capacity.

The reasons?

One of them is the lower hydroelectric production, due to the low level of rainfall, which especially affects Endesa due to its greater exposure to this energy source in relation to its competitors.

While the Enersis subsidiary, according to CDEC SIC data, has 64.3% of its installed capacity based on hydroelectricity (versus 34.3% thermal), AES Gener has 89.2% thermal and 10.8% hydro and Colbún, 53.2% thermal and 46.8% hydroelectric.

A second explanation is the forced stoppage of the Bocamina I and II coal-fired power plants, due to maintenance in the case of the former and a court ruling in the case of the newer unit.

The combination of both factors caused the energy production of the company controlled by the Italian Enel to fall by 7.5% compared to the same month of the previous year, from 1,198 GWh to 1,108 GWh a year later. In the same period, Colbún also reduced its production, but only by 1.3%, reaching 1,010 GWh.

The generator linked to the Matte family benefited from the entry into operation of the Angostura power plant, inaugurated last year, which has an installed capacity of 316 MW for an average annual generation of 1,542 GWh.

“In February, Endesa continued without coal-fired generation due to the major maintenance of Bocamina I and the stoppage of Bocamina II. On the other hand, Endesa, Colbún and Pehuenche’s hydro generation decreased due to lower availability of this resource. Meanwhile, Endesa, Aes Gener and Colbún increased their LNG generation due to greater availability of this fuel, while Guacolda slightly increased its coal-fired generation”, explained the consulting firm Systep in its latest monthly report.

AES Gener leads

At the national level (SIC+SING), Endesa lost its leadership to AES Gener, which reached a production of 1,486 GWh in February, adding its operations in the SIC, SING and the 50.01% it holds in the Guacolda thermal complex. In the case of Endesa, it reaches 1,254 GWh by adding 100% of Celta and Gasatacama to its operations in the SIC.