Countdown begins for Toachi Pilaton power generation after 14 years

The following is a machine translation of a Celec release

After more than 14 years of waiting, the Alluriquín hydroelectric plant will finally begin to generate energy under the government of Daniel Noboa. “We have started the countdown. By the end of December we will already have electricity from the plant,” said the acting Minister of Energy and Mines, Inés Manzano.

The announcement came after the closing of the floodgates of the Toachi River dam, which will allow water to be stored to begin testing and subsequent operation of the new hydroelectric plant, which has a capacity of 204 MW.

The support of the President of the Republic, Daniel Noboa, has been fundamental to complete its construction and start-up, said Minister Manzano, who was accompanied by the Vice Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Fabián Calero Freire; the general manager of CELEC EP, Gustavo Sánchez Íñiguez, technicians from the Hidrotoapi Business Unit and from the contracting companies.

The reservoir will be filled in 45 days and will be carried out progressively, to avoid damage to the dam infrastructure and river banks. The operational tests of the generation units, which is the main benefit of the Toachi Pilatón project, will begin immediately.

The dam built on the Toachi River is 60 metres high and 170.50 metres wide, while the reservoir is 3 kilometres long and has a storage capacity of 6.77 million cubic metres of water.

According to the plan, the first unit will start operating at the end of December, the second in January and the third in February, which will complete the 204 MW of power that this hydroelectric plant has.

The Toachi Pilatón complex is currently 98% complete and is located on the borders of Pichincha, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Cotopaxi. It is fed by the Pilatón and Toachi rivers, which are located on the western slope of the Andes mountain range, a key aspect, since it allows the use of their electrical production while the eastern slope is in a dry period.