Electrical expert Bernardo Castellanos agreed today with businessman Celso Marranzini, president of the Unified Council of Electricity Distribution Companies, that if batteries are not installed the electrical system could collapse.
He said the statement refers to the more than 1,500 megawatts of solar and wind energy approved irresponsibly by this government by the National Energy Commission, the Superintendency of Electricity, with the approval of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, without battery storage.
He considered that wind and solar energy, due to their intermittency, puts the operation of the interconnected national electrical system at risk when not installed with batteries.
He said that between 2024 and early 2025, authorities have proudly announced the entry of some 1,200 megawatts of intermittent generation, solar and wind without battery storage.
He stressed that the German agency GIZ, in a study for the Ministry of Energy and Mines, establishes that by 2024 at least 450 megawatts of battery storage should have been installed to reduce and mitigate the risk of blackouts due to the intermittency of solar and wind energy.
“For the officials of the electrical sector of this government, the studies only serve to decorate bookcases and shelves; they do not read them, and if they do read them, they do not understand them,” he said.
He pointed out that the 450 megawatts of battery storage that the GIZ study established as a minimum that should be operational by 2024, is an investment of about 500 million dollars.
He considered that the state-owned ETED Transmission Company does not have US$500 to invest in batteries, since its main responsibility is the transmission lines and transmission substations.
On the other hand, he said that Marranzini was appointed at the end of last December as president of the Unified Council of the Ede, which is why he has responsibility for the current situation in the electricity sector and now “he wants to wash his hands like Pilate.”
He explained that the deterioration of the electricity sector has occurred during his tenure, despite the decrease in the prices of coal and natural gas, which are responsible for 80% of the energy generated in the country.
He recalled that Marranzini has been vice-president of the Electricity Cabinet for four years and is now realising that the electricity sector is in a difficult situation.
He considered that all roads lead to the privatization of the electricity sector.
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