Ejesa calls for turnkey transmission bids

Argentina's Jujuy province power distributor Ejesa has called for turnkey bids from Argentine companies for the construction of a 132kV transmission line between the Güemes and Las Maderas substations, plus the expansion of the Güemes substation and a series of modifications to Las Maderas. National electricity regulator Enre set a US$3.2mn cap on spending (excluding sales tax) at an exchange rate of 2.9 pesos to the dollar, stipulating that 65% of the budget is in US dollars and 35% in Argentine pesos. Investment would be amortized within five years of the line starting operations, which in turn is scheduled for 10 months after starting work. In its request for Enre to approve the tender, Ejesa said that power supplies in Jujuy were "precarious." Jujuy province government will assume the financing of the line, Enre said in a resolution. Chilean distributor CGE and its Conafe subsidiary together control 45% of Ejesa, which in 2002 had 123,000 clients and sold 381GWh.