The polar cold wave put the energy system through a demand that reached a historic record, as assured by the National Administration of Power Plants and Electric Transmissions (UTE) detailing a total consumption of 2,279 megawatts, which was supplied, for the most part, through renewable energy.
The person in charge of the Cargo Dispatch of UTE, Pablo Vogelreported that the maximum peak consumption was on Monday, July 8 at 9:14 p.m. with a total demand of 2,279 megawatts, exceeding the 2,242 megawatts of the last record in December 2022.
In this way, the increase in cold weather caused Uruguayan citizens to use their stoves and air conditioners even more to heat their homes. According to Vogel, most of the demand was met through renewable energy, specifically the hydroelectric and the wind.
The hydroelectric It was the one with the highest participation thanks to the large amount of water available from the rains in the first half of the year, followed by the wind, biomass and to a much lesser extent, the thermal energy.
The UTE manager said that a new record could be reached in the coming days due to the cold weather forecast until Sunday 14. However, he reassured everyone by assuring them that the state-owned company has the energy generation system necessary to meet possible demands.
A good time for UTE dams
Earlier this month, UTE reported that the first half of 2024 was one of the best in five years for electric dams due to high rainfall volumes.
According to official figures on the production of the dams of Big Leap and Black river, managed by UTE, They had a production of 3,402 GWh during the first half of this year. A little less than in 2019 – five years ago – when a peak of 3,896 GWh was reached.
In this way, 51% of the energy generation was supplied by electric dams. Meanwhile, the total generated by them was three times greater than in the same period last year. However, if the dams are compared, Salto Grande managed to triple its interannual production, while those of Río Negro managed to quadruple their production if compared to the first half of last year.
The first half of the year, however, saw less success in energy production from thermal power plants, which only produced 106.4 GWh, representing a 1.6% share of the total. This was one of the lowest production levels in the last 20 years.
Source: Ambito
