Canadians study interconnection

Canadian engineering firm Dessau-Soprin is "sniffing around" with compatriot energy company Hydro Quebec to study the possibility of building an electrical interconnection between Chile and Argentina, a Dessau-Soprin source told BNamericas. The source made the comments during an event in Chilean capital Santiago Thursday, as part of a December 3-5 Canadian trade mission. He declined to disclose details of the project, or comment on Dessau-Soprin's role. The engineering firm has developed rural electrification projects in Peru and is working on small-scale hydro projects in the Dominican Republic, but this would be its first project in Chile. Hydro Quebec owns Chile's main transmission company Transelec, which could team up with its Argentine equivalent Transener to build an interconnection from Argentina's Mendoza province to Chile's central region. Hydro Quebec has said publicly it is interested in buying Transener from Argentine energy company Petrobras Energia, though the latter says Transener's sale is not planned in the short term. Chile's AES Gener and Brazil's federal energy company Petrobras are also developing electrical interconnection projects to link southern Chile and Argentina.