Enel obtains authorization for early removal and final disconnection for the Tarapacá Power Plant

Published on Friday, 26 July 2019

Santiago, July 26th, 2019. The Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE), authorized Gasatacama Chile S.A., an affiliate of Enel Generación Chile, to proceed along with the final removal, disconnection and end of operations of the Tarapacá power plant (158 MW) on December 31st, 2019.  This milestone was initially forecasted for May, 2020, but the company formally requested from the authority its early removal.

The decision for the anticipated definitive plant closure is framed within the agreement for removal of coal operated thermal power plants subscribed with the Chilean government through the Ministerio de Energía. We value the favorable reply by the CNE to or request, since it allows us to move forward faster in or commitment towards de carbonization and thus, to lead Chile’s transition to an increasingly more renewable energy matrix”, explains Paolo Pallotti, general manager for Enel Chile.

Article 72-18 of the General Law on Electric Services states that the final removal, disconnection and end of operations request for power generating units is to be carried out with an anticipation of 24 months, existing the possibility for the CNE to waiver said deadline.