Red Eléctrica Internacional and Engie have commissioned the 500-kilovolt Mejillones-Cardones line which is 600 kilometres in length that connects for the first time ever the the Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande (SING) with the Sistema Interconectado Central grid (SIC) in Chile. The project has been carried out by Transmisora Eléctrica del Norte (TEN), a company owned at 50% by both entities.
After twenty-eight months of construction and eight months of preparation to guarantee its correct commissioning, the overall investment in this infrastructure has represented around 800 million dollars (about 679 million euros).
The commissioning of the Mejillones-Cardones line will allow evacuation of all renewable generation in the northern part of the country and will also enable the creation of a single energy market in Chile, as well as creating a more stable, robust and competitive electricity system that will contribute to the reduction of the price of energy in the Chile. Moreover, this project has been completed before the deadline guaranteed to the Chilean State.
The project consists of a 600-kilometre line linking Mejillones and Cardones consisting of 1,350 towers, as well as the newly constructed substations of Mejillones, Cumbre, Nueva Cardones and Los Changos, the latter being considered the largest in the country with a surface area of about 30 hectares.
International activity of the Red Eléctrica Group
In January 2016, Red Eléctrica Chile, a subsidiary of Red Eléctrica Internacional, acquired 50% of the share capital of Transmisora Eléctrica del Norte (TEN), owned by Engie Energía Chile, from which time both companies have had a close-knit relationship, participating jointly in the management and construction of the project.
For the Red Eléctrica Group, this acquisition represented an essential step forward in its internationalisation strategy and its entry into Chile, a country with high growth potential and a stable and secure regulatory environment, hand in hand with a highly recognised local partner in the Chilean electricity sector.
The international presence of the Red Eléctrica Group in Latin America, started more than 18 years ago in Peru, where currently there are two projects in commercial operation and two other projects under construction is further strengthened with the commissioning of this project in Chile and with the awarding of a new one in this country last June. This has enabled the Red Eléctrica Group to position itself as one of the main players regarding a potential Peru-Chile electricity interconnection.
Currently, Red Eléctrica manages 1,185 kilometres of electricity lines in Peru and 1,206 in Chile, which will increase to 1,464 kilometres with the awarding in June of the aforementioned project.
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