By The Star Staff
Peñuelas-based energy producer EcoEléctrica announced on Wednesday that after completing maintenance work on unit CT No. 1 and obtaining authorization from the Puerto Rico Energy Control Center, the maneuvers for the unit’s commissioning began.
However, at around 9:23 a.m., the interconnection with the transmission network, through the 230-kilovolt line 51100, went out of service due to the activation of a protection system.
The incident caused the CT No. 2 and STG units to go out of service, which were operating normally until that moment. The company said it is working with island electrical system personnel to analyze the event, identify the causes and apply the necessary corrective measures to restore EcoEléctrica’s generating units as soon as possible.
“We will keep you informed of the progress of the restoration work in due time,” EcoEléctrica added in its statement through its social networks.
Meanwhile, Applied Energy Systems, or AES, in Guayama was keeping its unit 2 out of service for reasons that were unknown at press time Wednesday.
Added to the picture are units 1 and 2 at Aguirre Central in Salinas, because despite the fact that Iván Báez, the spokesman for legacy plants operator Genera PR, said unit 2 would return to service in October, it was reported that the departure of unit 1 involves a repair of the feed pump and the unit could resume operation this weekend.
According to the Genera PR portal, at 2:42 p.m. Wednesday, the available generation was around 2,598 megawatts. It was reported later in the day that load shifts would begin early due to lack of generation and that almost 100,000 LUMA Energy customers were already without service.