The Bariloche Electricity Cooperative (CEB) put into operation this Wednesday the new East Transformer Station, which It will improve the service for users in the neighborhoods of that area of the city and Dina Huapi, according to CEB executives.
The governor of Río Negro, Arabela Carreras, the mayor of Bariloche, Gustavo Gennuso, the community chief of Dina Huapi, Mónica Balseiro, were at the opening ceremony, hosted by the president of the CEB, Carlos Aristegui. Carreras and Aristegui are candidates for mayor to succeed Gennuso.
Aristegui informed RÍO NEGRO that the investment made was around 7,000,000 dollars. «The work was done with capital from the neighbors. valued the coordinator of directors of the CEB, Eduardo Broglio.
He explained that It is an investment that was included in the investment plan authorized by EPRE in past tariff reviews. The facilities are located between Comandante Luis Piedrabuena avenue and Ruta de Circunvalación, in the area of the old road to the airport.
Broglio said that these are works that are planned “many years in advance” to respond to the demand. He recalled that this East Zone Transformer Station “began to think about in 2014, when the first sketches were made.” He asserted that the civil works demanded more than two years of execution. Contractor companies worked and he stressed that all the engineering of the TS is done by CEB personnel.
He argued that the work will improve the quality of service in the eastern neighborhoods of Bariloche and Dina Huapi. Also, in Invap, the campus of the University of Río Negro, the international airport of Bariloche, the sewage treatment plant managed by the CEB. And it will provide the service to the Productive, Industrial and Technological Park of Bariloche (PITBA).
He indicated that the energy will be distributed from the ET del Este is the one that reaches the city from the Alipiba I line. He commented that the Ñireco Transformer Station, known as Usina Pechón, “was at the limit.” “So, instead of going through the Ñireco ET, the energy will now go through the Eastern ET, which will improve the quality of service,” Broglio said. In addition, he mentioned that it is a work that is projected to respond to the growth in demand in the coming years.
It is essential to move forward with Alipiba II
Both Aristegui and Broglio assured that it is essential to advance with the work of Alipiba II, which is strategic. The national government announced on April 18 that the work was on its way to being awarded.
“If Alipiba II is not there, there will be a gap,” Aristegui warned. “What I understand is that it has already been awarded,” he said. “It is very important to move forward with Alipiba II,” observed Broglio.
He clarified that this second high voltage line that is vital for the development of Bariloche, Villa La Angostura and towns in the region «It will take a number of years, but if we don’t make these investments later we won’t be able to distribute the energy.”
For this reason, he said that the ET of the East It is important because it improves the distribution networks that depend on the CEB, which has some 57,000 users between Bariloche, Dina Huapi and Villa Mascardi.
From the CEB they reported that the TS “was fully developed according to international standards, with characteristics that position it at the level of those installed in countries that have the most advanced technology in the world.”
“It is a source of pride as a Barilochense to have a Cooperative so committed to local development,” said Carreras. He congratulated Aristegui for the start-up of the facilities and said that the work “arrives at the right time and promotes the growth of Bariloche and Dina Huapi”, At the same time, he considered that the cooperative movement “increasingly demonstrates its ability to respond to the needs of the people.”
Genusso said that This work “was one of the great wishes that Bariloche and Dina Huapi had to be able to provide energy to cities that are growing and demanding investment”, and stressed that “electric power is a sign of production, growth and quality of life.” The community chief congratulated the CEB, its leadership and its workers for the decision to incorporate state-of-the-art technology.
Technical details of the Este de Bariloche substation
The Transformer Station will receive energy from a new 33 KV Medium Voltage Line (LMT) that goes from the Bariloche Station (La Paloma) to this new station located in the East of the city.
It will supply five feeders in its first stage, with works on new 13.2 KV networks with underground outlets to supply Medium Voltage Lines, opening nearby existing circuits. There will be two feeders to the East, one feeder to Bariloche, one to the Airport and another exclusive feeder for the PITBA.
In addition The station will allow supplying energy in an adequate quantity and also improve the quality of service to its supplied area. It has a 20 MV 33/13.2 KV transformer with forced ventilation mounted in its corresponding box, with capacity for a future reserve transformer.
It also has an initial power module with 33 KV LMT Input Cells, 33 KV Transformer input and 13.2 KV Transformer Output, with their corresponding protection systems for fiber optic communication and ABB SCADA workstation to be teleoperated from the Operation Center and Control of the CEB, located in the Ñireco Station.
For the distribution power evacuation of this first stage, it has a module of seven 13.2 KV cells with their corresponding protection systems linked to the SCADA ABB work station, six of which will be enabled for feeders and one for capacitor banks.