The Minister of Energy also revealed that 2,500 households had electricity for the first time on a permanent basis, that the country's energy investment exceeded US $ 3.1 billion, and that electric vehicles and chargers doubled.
The Minister of Energy, Susana Jiménez, and the undersecretary Ricardo Irarrázabal, took stock of the main milestones of the ministry during 2018, in which they highlighted the strong boost of renewable energy and economic investment in the sector.
This is how last year the country's energy investment accounted for 21% of total investment, exceeding US $ 3,100 million, which was in third place as a productive sector after mining and public works.
Future expectations are also very positive thanks to the fact that the Environmental Assessment System (SEIA) approved electricity generation projects for US $ 4,850 million, equivalent to 3,653 MW.
Renewable energies are 20.8% of the electric matrix
The Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE) had a strong growth during the past year, since they reached 20.8% of the electrical matrix of 23,478 MW, thanks to a growth of 2.9% compared to 2017 (17.9 %).
Additionally, almost 92% of the 715 MW that began operating in the national electricity system during the past year were also based on renewable energies, mainly solar (59%) and wind (32%).
"These figures are clear in showing that renewable energies are here to stay, which is a priority of the Government of President Sebastián Piñera and that they have enormous potential in our country," said Energy Minister Susana Jiménez.
Another relevant indicator of the good health of the energy sector is that electricity demand grew 2.8% during 2018, a considerable rise compared to 0.8% in 2017.
"This growth goes hand in hand with the greater economic growth achieved by the country last year, however, we can observe a decoupling between economic growth and the growth of electricity demand, which is related to the advances in energy efficiency" , explained the undersecretary Irarrázabal.
2,500 Chilean homes had electricity 24/7 for the first time.
In the 2018 Energy Milestones count, the authorities highlighted in a special way that 2,500 households had electricity for the first time.
And is that addressing this vulnerability is paramount for the Government, which is embodied as the first Mega Commitment of the "Energy Route 2018-2022" Leading the modernization with citizen seal. "For this work is to have a map of energy vulnerability, that identifies each family in the country that is without electric power.
"As a country we have a moral and ethical commitment to serve Chilean families who do not have electricity in their homes in the 21st century, we are working to change that harsh reality and bequeath them a better country," said Minister Susana Jiménez.
The electromobility is another area where there were significant advances in 2018, since the fleet of electric vehicles reached 525, a figure that more than doubled the 243 of 2017. They also noted that 103 electric buses are circulating in the streets of Santiago, and another 100 will be added in this month.
In addition, electric chargers also doubled, from 22 in 2017 to 44 in 2018, a figure that this year will have a significant increase reaching over 150.
Energy for self-consumption doubles
Another relevant indicator is the 104% increase in distributed generation for self-consumption, which reached an installed capacity of 24.2 MW.
For Minister Jiménez, "with the entry into force of the new law on distributed generation, we project a future of strong growth with what we call citizen energy".
The resumption of imports of Argentine natural gas was another milestone highlighted by the authorities, since trade between the two countries was liberalized for the first time in a decade, and 513.8 million cubic meters of trans-Andean gas have arrived in the country.
Currently, 21 natural gas supply contracts are underway, which for the energy minister is a big step "for the flexibilization and decarbonisation of our energy matrix".
Until the end of November 2018, the SAIDI index gave a value of 11.04 hours of average interruption of the electricity supply in the country, which represents its lowest historical record, being 38% lower than the index reported in 2017 at the same date , and 10% lower compared to the previous best historical record.
"We can say with satisfaction that 2018 was the year with the lowest historical levels in average hours of interruption, which has a positive impact on the quality of life of people," Minister Jiménez concluded.
Milestones Energy 2018
1. 21% of the country's investments came from the Energy sector
2. US $ 4,850 million were approved environmentally in power generation projects (3,653 MW)
3. 20.8% was the installed capacity of Non-Conventional Renewable Energies
4. 91% of the projects that came into operation were renewable energy
5. 2.8% electric demand increased
6. 104% increased distributed generation (self-consumption), reaching an installed capacity of 24.2 MW
7. 525 electric vehicles circulate in the country, of which 104 are electric buses
8. 2,500 households had electricity for the first time
9. 11.04 average hours of power outage, the lowest historical level
10. 513 million m3 of natural gas were imported from Argentina
This Ministry of Energy release was published using an automatic translation system.
