Chilean energy firm Enersis SA is to invest an estimated $65.4 million in an upgrade of its distribution and transmission service in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The plan shall be implemented through the subsidiary, Ampla, the distributor which supplies more than 2.5 million customers in the state of Río de Janeiro.

With the objective of improving the quality of the electricity supply in the state of Río de Janeiro, Enersis, through its subsidiary, Ampla, launched a plan that involves investments in the energy transmission and distribution networks in 66 municipalities that make up the company’s concession area, present in 73% of the state of Río de Janeiro, Brazil.

The distributor plans to invest in the 2010-2014 period, an amount of US$65.4 million in addition to the estimated budget for the improvement of the network.  The plan is based on four pillars: the reposition of components (assets) to maintain the system; the substitution of assets to prevent interruptions; selectivity for the purpose of minimizing the impact of the interruptions; and flexibility in order to expedite the reconnection of the network.  

Among the principal actions that will be carried out this year are pruning of 675,000 trees, corresponding to 150% of that which was done in 2009 (271,000 trees pruned) and substitution of components (assets) in 324 kilometers of network, equivalent to 1% of the medium voltage network.

The firm will also undertake the installation/maintenance of 1,750 grounding systems, that protect against lightning; the installation of 131 connectors (which increases the existing quantity by 31% and seeks to minimize the impact of the interruptions in large groups of customers); the installation of 2,500 fuse switches (6% increase in respect to existing number), for the purpose of minimizing the impact of the interruptions in areas of low population density.

As a first result of the investments, Ampla has noted the decline for five consecutive months in the frequency (FEC) and duration (DEC) indexes of the interruptions in the electricity supply, after 18 months of evaluation.

In 2010, the number of customers of Ampla increased by 49,000, surpassing the 2.5 million customers in the state of Río de Janeiro.

Enersis S.A., an electric utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. As of December 31, 2009 it had 14,851 megawatts of installed capacity with 56 power plants; and 12.9 million distribution customers covering 45 million inhabitants.

25th April 2011