- Since last week, Emgesa has been reporting to the Huila fishing authorities and associations on the situation of the Betania Reservoir.
- Now, the power generation of the Betania Reservoir is subject to the requirements, needs and demands of the National Electric Grid.
- Following the events that occurred in the Guatapé and Termoflores power plants, Betania had to increase its power generation, which has led to a decline in the Reservoir levels.
- Between July 2015 and February 2016, the level of the Betania Reservoir was at an average of 78%, but in the last few days, it has declined, reaching 51%.
On March 2, EMGESA requested a meeting with the authorities of Huila, along with the fish and fishing associations of the Department, to inform them of the current and future situation of the Betania Reservoir.
With the participation of the National Aquaculture and Fishing Authority (AUNAP, for the Spanish original), the Huila Fishermen's Association (Asopishuila, for the Spanish original), the Colombian Fish Farmers' Federation (Fedeacua, for the Spanish original) and the Departmental Secretary of Agriculture, EMGESA gave notice of the decline in the Betania Reservoir, which reached levels of about 51% in the last few days. Between July 2015 and February 2016, the level of the reservoir was at an average of 78%.
This descent is due to the increased demands of the National Electric System for the production of energy, after what happened at the Guatapé and Termoflores power plants, which led to the country's loss of more than 10% of the energy provided by the National Electric System in just a few days. This situation is even more difficult considering that it is in the midst of severe, prolonged El Niño weather conditions.
The energy shortage on the national system has led to the application of CREG Resolution 226 / 2015, which determines that "companies with greater capacity due to the levels of their reservoirs must dispatch the energy necessary to the system" whenever required.
In the specific case of the Betania power plant, it has increased its generation, reaching 4 GWh/day, which results in the descent of reservoir levels by approximately 1.5% per day.
In view of this descent, EMGESA has called on authorities and the fishermen's guild of the department of Huila to activate their contingency plans and take the measures necessary in order to avoid any impacts on fish farming.
It is important to remember that power generation is a public utility of national interest and since the Betania hydroelectric plant was declared a single-purpose reservoir at the beginning of its operations, at complex times like these with scarcity on the Colombian Electric System, due to the severe El Niño weather conditions, power generation is a priority and the power plants are subject to providing the power generation utility to satisfy the demand of the entire country.
A second meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9, at which EMGESA will continue to share information on the behavior of the reservoir and generate notices for the authorities and fish farmers to determine the measures to be taken to activate their contingency plans in order to minimize any possible impacts on fishing activity.
Emgesa S.A. is the company in the business of generating and selling electricity in Colombia, with nearly 800 clients on the non-regulated market and a total installed generation capacity of 3,458.8 MW, which is the equivalent of satisfying the national demand for more than 3 years uninterrupted. It has 11 hydroelectric power plants and 2 thermal power plants operating in the departments of Cundinamarca, Bolívar and Huila. Since 2013, it has played an active role as a natural gas vendor in negotiation processes with producers, resellers and clients from the Non-regulated Market.