Ecuador: Unavailability of Unit 02 of Sopladora hydro

This Celec statement was translated from Spanish by an automated system

During the scheduled maintenance work of the 40,000 hours of operation of Unit 02 of the Blowing Hydroelectric Plant, in the period August 4 to September 1, an undetectable breakdown was evident in the turbine shaft during the operation of the plant. unit, which is evaluated by technicians from CELEC EP and the manufacturer of said component.

This Monday, September 11, 2023, a team of technicians from Harbin Electric International, a manufacturer of electromechanical equipment, arrived in Ecuador and are evaluating a temporary, safe and reliable option to repair the affected axle in order to reduce times. of unavailability of this unit, which is expected to take approximately 4 months, while the new shaft of the turbine-generator assembly is manufactured, as part of the definitive solution.

In order to ensure the safety and correct operation of the two remaining generation units of the power house, technical personnel from CELEC EP carried out a full inspection of the elements that make up the turbine-generator set of Unit 03, which It is in perfect conditions. For this reason, this generation unit will operate again and will enter into synchronism with the National Interconnected System (SNI) this Tuesday, September 12.

A similar situation is planned to be carried out in Unit 01, starting on September 16, with an approximate time of 12 days for its inspection. It is necessary to emphasize that the inspection of units 03 and 01 are preventive and does not imply that their conditions are similar to Unit 02.

Given the event that arose, CELEC EP immediately, through its CELEC Sur Operational Unit, notified the insurer of this development, thus safeguarding the property and assets of the Corporation.

The General Manager of CELEC EP, Gonzalo Uquillas, recalled that all of CELEC EP's assets are insured and pointed out that, in a timely manner, the corresponding arrangements have been made to cover the cost of repairs to Unit 02 of the Sopladora plant.

The Electricity Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC EP), through the CELEC Sur Operational Unit, has completed the scheduled maintenance of the generation units of the Sopladora plant, in coordination with the National Electricity Operator (Cenace). The last scheduled maintenance on Unit 02 was carried out in May 2022, after 32,000 hours of accumulated operation, as indicated in the manufacturer's manuals.

The Blowing Power Plant is part of the integral Paute hydroelectric complex and has an installed power of 487 megawatts, with three generation units of 162.3 MW each.