By The Star Staff
Genera PR, the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s legacy power plants, announced Tuesday that it sent out notification of intent to award a pair of bids for the acquisition of the peaking units designed to support Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.
Wärtsilä North America Inc. and Siemens Energy Inc. have been selected as the lead bidders in the process. Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand for power.
The peaking units are designed to operate on gas and diesel, offering flexibility to supply demand at critical times. Wärtsilä will supply eight reciprocating combustion engines that will be distributed across four key facilities around the island, while Siemens will be responsible for the installation of two combustion turbines at the Costa Sur plant in Peñuelas. The award is subject to final approval by the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the Public-Private Partnerships Authority before a contract is formalized.
“This is a fundamental step toward the modernization of Puerto Rico’s electrical system,” said Iván Báez, Genera PR’s vice president of corporate affairs. “The integration of these units ensures greater stability and responsiveness of the grid, helping to face both energy demand and unforeseen events in the system. In addition, replacing the old units with these will result in savings in fuel costs since they will operate mainly with natural gas, unlike the current ones that operate with diesel.”
The selected companies will have to finalize the relevant contracts, following the approval of the relevant entities, before proceeding with the installation phase.
The project, which involves significant investment in energy infrastructure, will boost the long-term reliability of the system, proponents said. Genera PR has already begun the permitting process for the preparation of land where the units will be located.
The award is part of an ongoing effort to meet Puerto Rico’s energy transformation plans, which include the replacement of critical components in the current fleet, the acquisition of power backup units and a battery storage system to improve service reliability.
Comments