ElectroAndina 2007 loss narrows to US$6.75mn

Chilean generator ElectroAndina posted a loss of US$6.75mn in 2007 compared to a loss of US$12.4mn the previous year, the company told securities regulator SVS. ElectroAndina attributed the loss to the increased costs of fuels used for generation. Natural gas supply restrictions from Argentina drove ElectroAndina's costs up by forcing the company to use coal and diesel to fuel thermo plants and make expensive spot market purchases of electricity. Operating revenues in the period came to US$379mn, up from US$254mn in 2006. The company posted an operating loss of US$3.68mn in 2007 compared to an operating loss of US$6.93mn the previous year. The decreased loss was due to higher power rates for clients that resulted in greater revenue. Sales volume in 2007 was 4.03TWh, down 4.57% from the previous year. ElectroAndina is the largest generator in Chile's northern grid (SING), with installed capacity of 992MW - 28% of SING's total capacity.