Peru power distributor turns to distributed generation to help cover demand

Distributed generation is helping Peruvian power distributor Electronoroeste (Enosa), which serves the northern region of Piura, cover demand amid dispatch infrastructure delays.

“Given the impossibility of making secondary transmission networks quickly and in a timely manner when required, what we can do, we distributors, is find a space for distributed generation,” Javier Muro, CEO of distribution group Distriluz, said at a local sector event.

Distriluz is an alliance which includes Enosa and Electronorte (Ensa), Hidrandina and Electrocentro.

Muro highlighted long lead times for transmission projects, such as the Valle del Chira substation, which has led Enosa to procure nearly 90MW in distributed generation.

"If we had not done so, we would not have been able to meet all the demand from Piura,” according to the CEO, whose presentation pointed to an overload of transmission lines and transformers in the Piura system.

Although distributed generation has been part of Peru’s power sector framework since 2006 with a subsequent mention in 2015, there has been no progress regarding the publication of a regulation to further define the technology’s deployment following a draft norm in 2018 that did not advance.